


GhettoMob

by Ollie_Sussfox37



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2020-06-25 14:36:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19747723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ollie_Sussfox37/pseuds/Ollie_Sussfox37
Summary: In this world, monsters and humans have co-existed in peace after the war. Monsters and humans have long since lived in cities side by side, but that doesn't mean all is peaceful. Riots of broken out, gangs have rised in power, turf wars are constant,  and drugs, ever changing. One lone hybrid is just trying to survive through it all as best he can, joining a gang to raise his reputation and hopefully rise up to power in due time. But fate has other plans for him as he starts to catch unwanted attention from a dective with a heart of gold and a sadistic doctor working in the shadows. What will he do now?





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue

It was a dark and dreary day, the clouds were rolling in as rain began to fall heavily down onto the busy city streets. A young handsome man with two different blue eyes could be seen making his way through the rain and crowds, pushing frantically as he made his way towards the hospital, only giving a quiet small ‘sorry’ whenever someone yelled after him for shoving them. When he arrived through the doors of the hospital, he instantly started to walk quickly through the halls, as if being there many times before. The nurses didn't even try to stop him, they only gave sad looks as he passed them quickly. They seemed to silently give him space as they understood his rush. The man made his way to a particular room, one that seemed more dreary and dark then the rest and paused at the doorway as a nurse came out softly.

She looked at him with sad kind eyes and put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry Crow…” She spoke in a quiet whisper to him as he stared into the room. “He doesn’t have long…. I’ll leave you two in peace…” 

The nurse gently slipped her hand from his shoulder as she quietly walked away. Her heels clicking quietly in the empty hall as she walked. Crow waited until he heard the click of her heels fade away then gently took off his hat as he gazed with wide eyes at his beloved father figure lying on the hospital bed. As his two toned hair fell against his face in a messy manner from his hat being removed, he wasted no time in dropping the hat and kneeling quickly by his father figures side.

The old skeleton monster laid in his medical bed, his bones seemed frail and looking quite weak as his chest rose and fell with his shallow breathing, he looked near the end of his rope, but his soul meter continued to beep in a constant rhythm as he lay quietly with his eyes closed. It seems this poor old skeleton monster looked like he barely crawled out of hell with his life. but even so, as Crow gazed at the bandages covering nearly half if not more of the skeletons body, it seemed that his wounds were now taking a server toll on him.

“Dad….” Crow whispered quietly as he slid his hands under the skeletons weak hand, squeezing it gently as his eyes welling with tears. He gazed down at him softly, words could not express how he was feeling in this moment as he struggled to hold back his tears, guilt welling up inside him as he stared down at the skeleton. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” 

His adoptive father opened his eyes and gently gazed at him weakly, his eyes shining a gradient violet and gold, it almost looked like a sunset. He looked up at his son softly and gave a weak smile, glad to see his remaining loved one by his side in his final moments. “Hey kiddo….”

Crow sniffed and wiped his eyes, forcing himself to smile even though he was breaking inside. “Hey dad…” he spoke quietly as he continued to hold his father’s hand, refusing to let go. Crow was trying so hard to stay strong, to keep a brave face for his father, but on the inside, he was scared…

Crow knew that once his father was gone, he would be all alone, he would no longer have his guidance as he continued on through life, he would be lost without his, and he was terrified.

“I…” he didn’t know what to say, he had too much to say, too much he wanted to express to his father but couldn’t as a new wave of tears formed in his eyes.

“hey... it's going to be alright, kid.... you're the lucky one... the last Black Crow.... our legend will never die as long as you live…” he tries to squeeze Crow's hand, but he was too weak, too frail as he gazed up at his sons face. “everything's going to be fine…”

Crow wipes his eyes with a sniffle and squeezes his hand gently. that's right, as long as he lives, his mob will never be forgotten, and he won't let anyone ever forget who they were. “I promise I'll do right by you…” he whispered gently as tried to keep his brave face on.

“I know you will..” The old skeleton continues to breathe shallowly as his smile soon fades, showing a troubled look forming on his features. “but you do know... you can't stay here....” he closes his eyes with a mournful and pained look on his face. “I've called in a favor from an old friend... to see to it that you are safely moved to Pheasant city....” 

Crow looks at him mournfully as his soul sinks in dismay but he nods slowly in understanding as he clutches his hand. “I.... I understand…”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer…” his father smiles sadly at him with his own tears in his eyes. “I lived a good life…”

“Y-you did..” Crow’s voice breaks as tears streamed down his face and fell onto the clean white sheets. “I’m going to miss you so much..”

The frail skeleton smiled sadly then gently reaches under the covers, pulling out a small jewelry box and weakly putting it into his son’s hand. 

“I was gonna save this for your birthday, but... you look like you could use it to... help you in the future... at least... in this way... I would... have....” his voice fades away, his eyes closed as the soul monitor slows down.

Crow clutches the box with one hand while staring down at his father frantically. “Dad?...” he whispered hesitantly then his eyes widen when the monitor flat lines, the hand he was holding so dearly turned to dust along with the rest of the skeleton monster. “Dad!!” 

He clutched the box close to his chest as he cried in mourning, feeling alone and afraid for what his future will bring as he cried alone.

Chapter 1

-present day-

Crow stands before the boss of the gang well known as "The Fire Pheonix" or "Phoenix" for short. This gang was well known for hiding right under the law's nose about their business, they even work with dirty, corrupted cops to help cover their tracks. The face of the boss remains a mystery, even to his own gang members. Even now, sitting in his godfather throne, his large chair was turned away from Crow, keeping himself hidden. 

Standing beside the boss was a large, three headed, black bulldog monster, who towers over Crow. He wore a clean black suit with the gang's crest printed on the left side of his jacket, he almost seemed like he was showing off the crest proudly as he stared down the lonely crow, the boss looking over some papers as he was turned away.

Crow stares back at the three headed bulldog cooly with blank eyes, his hair slicked back as he stood before them completely in black clothes except for his silver tie, in which he adjusted once before speaking in a leveled, calm voice. “I was told by a friend to come here....” 

One of the three heads of the bodyguard leans over to hear what the boss is whispering to him, then one of the heads spoke. 

“Boss is impressed,” he speaks in a low, gruff voice. Definitely that of a tough guy. “Never before have they been given a resumé to join their gang. Usually low lives come in and have to prove themselves.”

The Phoenix boss whispers to their bodyguard again, low and quiet to the point where Crow couldn’t even hear what their voice sounded like, let alone hear what they were saying.

“But,” The bulldog speaks again after the boss goes quiet. “Your record is impressive. The last Black Crow... boss apologizes for the loss of your flock.” 

“I've made my peace, there is no need to apologize,” Crow spoke softly as he looks up towards them with a cool gaze. “I've decided to keep my fathers mob alive by living for them... As long as I live, the Black Crowes live as well..” 

The Boss whispers to their body guard softly, one of the bulldogs leaning down to hear what he has to say. The bodyguard then speaks again to Crow, saying in a low, serious voice. “Boss finds your close and personal relations to one of the greaters powers quite... interesting.” 

“he was a close friend to my father.... He's done a lot for me, I could never thank him enough…” Crow gently glanced away as he spoke. He really was grateful to them for all that they’ve done, he’s not sure how he would’ve gotten this far without them. 

There was a soft sound of shuffling papers before the Phoenix Boss sets down the papers and whispers to their body guard again. The bodyguard listens to him then nods understandingly and stands up straight. 

“Congrats, boss is interested in letting you join. But of course, you need to follow our requirements, one being that you are required to bare our crest,” the bulldog shows off his brand with pride. “we pride ourselves in branding who we are. you can either have it tattooed or printed on a hidden piece of clothing.”

Crow straightens himself up as he gazes up at the crest with serious eyes, then silently nods. “I understand.. I am willing to do that..” he agreed, even though internally he was slightly reluctant to get a tattoo of the Phoenix’s crest onto him. ‘I’ll just have it sewn on an article of clothing…’ Crow thought quietly to himself.

“next, you must go through initiation,” The bodyguard continues as he gazes down at the smaller man. “After that, we will assign you a job to do.”

Crow took a deep breath and nodded with cold eyes, it seems he already knew what was about to happen. “I understand sir…” 

All three of the bulldogs heads smirked down at him then begins to walk away, waving him along as they walk towards the doors. Crow followed silently with blank eyes as he is lead to his “initiation”. 

A mere 10 minutes later, Crow finds himself in the middle of a large roaring crowd of Phoenix gang members, all of them cheering and yelling as he got the shit beaten out of him by a few gang members. They punched, kicked, and knocked him down brutally, and he wasn’t even allowed to fight back.

Crow knew this was all part of the initiation, to see exactly how he tough he was and how he handle himself. ‘After all,’ Crow thought as he stumbled back from a particularly hard punch, wiping his bloody mouth with hard cold eyes. ‘If I can’t handle this, I can’t handle being in this gang…’

He wipes the blood from his nose softly, staring blankly and coldly back at the member who punched him then makes a "bring it on" motion, as if to say this wasn't even hurting him. Crow grunts in pain as another gang member kicked him in the stomach, making him kneel down for a moment to catch his breath then forces himself back onto his feet as he clutches his stomach, glaring defiantly as he straightened himself back up.

The bulldog just stands on the sidelines, watching this all play out silently. He seems almost impressed at how well the newbie is taking the brutal beating, it was almost like he has gone through this before. Eventually, the large bulldog steps in to break it up, silently holding his hands up as he walks towards Crow, the Phoenix members instantly stopping and backing away as he approaches.

“Congrats, newbie, you're one of us now…” The bodyguard nodded gently at Crow, silently showing his respect for how well he handled his initiation. 

Crow pinches his nose to stop the bleeding and straightens himself out as he respectfully nods back to him. “thank you... I look forward to working with everyone,” he said this with a professional tone as he gazes up at the large bulldog. He acted so professional about everything, even though he got the literal shit beaten out of him just moments ago.

The bodyguard almost looks impressed by this, but keeps his expressions leveled as he nods one of his heads to the door. “get yourself cleaned up and branded. You start tomorrow morning.”

“Yes sir..” Crow nodded then turns and strides away, keeping his head held high as he made his way through the sea of gang members. 

………..

Crow was conveniently provided an apartment complex, complete with a fridge full of boos, clean sheets, furniture that looks fairly new, or at least well kept. Crow gazed around the apartment with blank eyes then gently walks to the table, lightly throwing his keys down, noticing there was a box on the coffee table. He gently opened it and found a new suit along with a file of possible jobs he might inbark in. Crow gently took out the suit and gazed at it softly then folded and put it aside for now, deciding he should shower first before ruining his new suit with blood a little too early.

He gently reached back into the box and pulled out the file, gently opening it as he sat down onto the couch. The jobs were organized from newbies to higher ranks, the highest rank being the Boss's right hand man. And it seems only the right hand man gets to learn of the Boss's true identity. Crow gazed at the jobs quietly then shuts the file and throws it gently back onto the coffee table, glancing at the time on his watch and deciding now would be a good time more than ever to take a shower and retire for the night.

He gently heads into the bathroom and removes his shirt first, studying the already forming bruises on his body as runs his fingers over them gently. Crow turns to face the mirror, studying his bloodied and bruised back, his eyes trailing down until it lands on the necklace around his neck.

He gently feels the silver chain then puts his hand softly over the star at the bottom of his necklace, cradling it close to his chest as Crow thought of his father was sorrow filled eyes, allowing himself to show his raw emotions now that he was alone. It was the last gift his father gave him before he died, the glass star seemed to almost glow with life as Crow gently traced it with his thumb. He wishes more than anything that he knew what his father was going to say, what his last dying words were, the meaning behind them… but he couldn’t turn back the clock, what was done is done, all he could do was move forward.

It had been at least two years since Crow's father had died. But the heartache it left behind feels like it happened just yesterday, the emotions he still felt were raw and painful as he thought back to that dark day. If his father were still here, he would be proud that Crow was still putting on a brave face, holding his head up high and continuing to stride forward even though his fathers death has left a void that could never be filled. 

Crow tears his eyes away from the mirror and gently opens the curtains to the shower, stripping down all the way as he stepped into the small tub. He gently turned on the shower head and sighs, letting the hot water soothe his aching body as he gently works his fingers through his two toned hair. ‘Tomorrow is a new start… don’t mess it up..’

……..

The next morning seems to roll around sooner than he would’ve wanted, but Crow was already prepared by the time a Phoenix member came knocking at his door. He opened it with no hesitation, proudly dawning his new suit as he gazed at his fellow member. The monster in front of Crow was a short cat monster with tan fur and a single earring in his scarred ear, he wore a suit as well but didn’t seem to care for it as much, it was wrinkled and the tie was loose, it seemed he was only wearing the suit because he had to, not because he wanted to.

The cat monster before him silently gazes him up and down with a blank expression then jerks his head as he starts walking, expecting Crow to follow. Crow does so without question, adjusting his tie as he matched the cat monsters stride and keeps with his pace as they make their way down the streets.

“alright, newbie, you're meeting up with the head of one of our many underground businesses. try not to say anything stupid,” the monster next to him rudely sneered as he said this, it seemed he’s been in this gang for far too long to give a crap about “being nice” or sugar coating introductions. 

“Understood sir,” Crow nodded as he walked next to him, deciding to stay professional as they start to make there way into a more crowded area. The cat monster leads Crow through the crowd until they approach a plant monster who has his back turned to them, seeming to not be paying attention at all. Crow studied this monster as they approached, silently taking in his appearance as they stopped behind him. 

The plant monster was very human like, with light green skin leaves for hair that drape along his head in a relaxed way that actually was quite flattering to his facial features rather than taking away from it. he also had bright yellow eyes instead of the white most humans had in their eyes, and Crow could see plant life such as leaves and vines growing around his neck and arms in an almost intricate way.

As for his clothing, he appeared to be wearing baggy clothing, almost a street gangster style, but also wearing some pretty expensive jewelry. ‘like a wannabe rapper,’ Crow noted silently to himself as he continued to study him then noticed the Phoenix crest tattooed on the back of his neck. ‘Ah, I see...’

He also had on a fancy brand of headphones on, which explains why he didn’t seem to notice or pay attention to them as he silently bobbed his head to whatever sort of music he was playing through the headphones. The cat monster looked annoyed as he walks up to the plant monster, he seemed to have no patience at all for being ignored. 

“Hey, Kenny!” He practically yelled as grabs him by the plant monster by the shoulder to get his attention. The plant monster, Kenny, turns around, pulling off his headphones as he looked down at the cat monster. 

“Hm? Oh, yooo~! Wazzup, man~?” Kenny cracks a smile at the monster then glances at Crow, his face instantly shifted into a suspicious and distrusting glare as he studies Crow. “Hmm…”

“before you ask, no, he's not a cop. he's your new bodyguard and will be working with you on your business trips,” the cat monster says as he makes air quotes around the words “business trips” with a slight roll of his eyes, seeming annoyed he has to call it that.

Kenny’s manner instantly changes to amusement, joy and over all a happy goofball in a manner of seconds, which almost completely throws Crow off guard. 

“No way~” he walks over to Crow with a big laid back smile, opening up with arms and going in for a bro hug. “yooo, what's happenin' my monstah from anothah mothah~?” 

Crow takes a step back from the attempt hug without meaning to, an instant look of cold suspicion comes to his face. Crow was not a “touchy feely” person, he never trusted anyone to touch him, and he _especially_ didn’t trust people who were laid back enough to hug on the first meeting.

“Huh?” Kenny looks confused for a moment then it seems to click in his head. “oh, heh, not the hugging type, ey? dat's cool dat's cool~” he puts his hands in his pockets as he continues to smile with a laid back look, not seeming all that fazed. 

“so you're new here, right~? welcome to Pheasant City~! allow me to give you the tour!” Kenny strides to a fancy, red, roofless car parked just a little ways away from where they were standing, unlocking it before climbing into the driver's seat. “Come on~!”

Crow hesitates for a moment then glances at the cat monster unsurely. The fellow Phoenix member just nods his head roughly toward the car, as if to say “go on”. Crow slowly nods back respectfully before walking around the car to the passenger side. He opens the door and climbs in, barely having enough time to buckle up before Kenny shifts into drive and takes off.

“So, how much do you know about our lil business~?” Kenny pipes up after Crow settles down into his seat. Crow glanced at him before looking back at the road blankly.

“Not much…” a slight accent slipped through as he spoke softly, Kenny being so laid back must have made him slightly nervous enough to let it slip out. Kenny instantly catches onto the accent and glances at him excitedly. “Whoa, dude is you french~?!”

“Um, I, no,” Crow quickly got his voice under control, clearing his throat before he spoke again. “I grew up in France, I just have a slight accent that slips out sometimes… I apologize.”

“Nah dude, that’s totally cool~!” Kenny waved his hand dismissively as if waving away the apology then opens up a built in cooler, reaching in and pulling out a beer. “Yo, you want a beer~?”

Crow looks unsure about this as he glances at the beer then looks at the beer then at him with blank eyes, would it offend him if he refused? Why was Kenny being so laid back about everything, especially this? After all, wasn’t it important for Crow to be at his top notch best so he could best protect Kenny?

“Thank you, but I really shouldn’t drink on the job,” Crow tries to refuse as politely as possible, not wanting to risk getting into trouble by drinking when he was suppose to be focused and working.

“Aw come on, it’s alright bruh~!” Kenny chuckles as he lightly dangles the bottle towards Crow. “don’t tell me you’re a lightweight~?”

Crow instantly gets an offended look on his face from the playful taunt, quickly taking the bottle with narrowed eyes. He knew he shouldn’t give into the taunt so easily, but he was going to show Kenny exactly how much of a supposed “lightweight” he was.

“Just watch,” he huffed at Kenny then opens his mouth, dog like fangs peeking out as he gripped the cap with his teeth and popped it open. He easily flicks the cap off, then downs the whole bottle in just a few seconds while keeping eye contact with Kenny. Crow pulls the bottle away and politely puts it into the trash bag in the back, all the while Kenny stares at him with wide shocked eyes. He was silent for a few seconds as he stared then broke out into a wide grin.

“Hah~! Dude that was awesome~! I knew there was something cool about ya~!” He chuckled as he turned his attention back to the road. “You wanna listen to some music~? I gots a pretty sweet playlist~!”

Crow was a bit baffled by his behavior, it was odd for a total stranger to be this nice towards him. It was hard to tell if he was trying too hard or if he was actually being genuine…. Or maybe both was wrong and he was a complete idiot. Crow decided to keep his guard up regardless, he knows better than to trust any kindness right away, especially from a complete stranger. “Whatever you would like to listen to I suppose…” 

“Alright alright~ Yo, you like Hoop Pug~?” He turns on the radio and some sort of junky music starts to play, but Kenny seems to enjoy it as he starts to bop his head to the music. Crow stares at the radio then glances at Kenny in slight disbelief but keeps his thoughts to himself as he sits quietly.

After a while, Kenny suddenly turns and parks in the lot of a family owned bakery called "Ma and Pa's”, it was small and tucked away, anyone could’ve easily drove past it if they weren’t paying attention.

“We're here~!” he chimed as he turns off the car then climbs out, Crow silently following suit as he unbuckles his seatbelt and steps out of the car as well. “welcome to our lil business~”

The bakery looked old fashioned, like a historic wholesome spot where families would come by, maybe even a place that may have had an impact in many old childhoods. Crow gazes up at the small bakery as he studied it quietly, even looking at it made him feel the love and care of the owners who so lovingly kept this old shack of a place looking vintage and clean cut.

‘this is owned by the Phoenix gang?’ he thought to himself as he glanced at Kenny, trying to reason to himself that there is no way this old fashioned bakery would even associate with gang members. ‘But then again… that would be an excellent way to blend in..’

“Wait until you've met the old folks~ they're the sweetest~” Kenny gave a broad, happy grin as he heads inside. Crow glanced around one last time before he gently followed after him. The bell of the old door gives a pleasant soft jingle as they heads inside, and as suspected, the place was a total time capsule. The walls were plastered with old news clippings and black and white photos of the bakery in it's younger prime years. It seems to have been pretty popular in 19XX. There was a sweet human elderly couple who were setting up shop and decorating cakes behind the counter, they seemed to be getting ready for the busy day to come.

“Ma~! Pa~!” Kenny chimed cheerfully as strides towards the counter, not skipping a beat as Crow followed behind him. The sweet old lady perked her head and her eyes light up upon seeing the laid back plant monster.

“Kenny, sweetheart~ welcome back~!” she waddles around the counter and hurries to hug Kenny, kissing both his cheeks. “awww, it's so good to see you~” 

“It’s good to see you too~” he chuckled and smiled down at her happily. Crow may have kept his expression blank but he was utterly baffled and confused on the inside, after all, this was all way too normal. It was as if Kenny was just popping in to say “hi” to his folks and catch up with them and not to come here on a “business trip”.

“Is that Kenny?” an old man peers around the corner over his glasses then beams happily when he sees Kenny. “It is~!” he chimed happily as he came over and gave Kenny an old fashion hand shake. “It’s good to see you again son~!”

“I see you brought a friend~” the old woman smiled at Crow sweetly, making him relax his expression a little from his cold hard stare, after all, it was hard to stare down a sweet old lady.

“Heh~ yeah he’s new to the city~! This is-....uh..” Kenny gets a look on his face that’s similar to that of a perky idiot’s… he doesn’t even know Crow’s name, he didn’t even ask when they first spoke to each other. “Uuuuuuhhh...” 

“Crow, Crow Noir,” Crow decides to save him the embarrassment by introducing himself as he holds out his hand politely to them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

“Such a polite fellah you got there~” the old gentleman shakes his hand then laughs with a big smile. “And such a strong grip! Don’t break my hand now~!”

The corner of Crow’s lip twitches in a hint of a smile, he couldn’t help it, it seems their sweetness was rubbing off on him. “I promise I’ll try not to~”

“Such a handsome young man~” Ma chimed as she also shook Crow’s hand. “would you two boys like a cookie~?” 

“As much as I adore your sweets,” Kenny interjected with a smile, looking at the sweet old lady softly. “We’re just here to help deliver your delectable Grinch brownies to the clients~”

“My my, such a thoughtful young lad~” she says this as pinches Kenny’s cheek gently then waddles her way to the back to the kitchen. “I’ll be right back with the batches~”

Crow couldn’t help but look at Kenny in slight confusion, they couldn’t really be called that, could they? And these people really couldn’t honest to god be working with the gang… could they? He was pulled out of his thoughts at Pa spoke up to them. 

“So, how’ve you been Kenny? Staying out of trouble I hope~?” Pa grinned playfully at him.

“Haven’t been caught yet~” he joked back with a hearty chuckle. “How about you two~? Still holding strong as ever~?”

“Oh definitely!” the old man chuckled as they continued to chat, by this time Crow started to tune them out, he was terrible with small talk and didn’t want to interrupt them as he studied the many pastries and cakes on display. He didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but he couldn’t deny that the beautiful work and love that they put into their donuts, cupcakes, and cakes almost made him want to try a bite for himself, just to taste the homemade buttercream frosting they so carefully swirled onto the sweet treats.

Ma comes waddling back out of the kitchen, wheeling out a wagon full of brownie boxes, smiling as she chirps, “here you go you two~!”

“Ah, they smell amazing Ma~” Kenny hums as he walks over to take the wagon, Crow following him with a slight shocked look.

“Oh hush now, I can’t take all the credit~” she waved her hand with a sweet smile, looking humbly flattered. “You’re the one who provides the special ingredients after all~”

“Aww it’s nothing~” Kenny gently takes the handles of the wagon and starts wheeling it out as he talks to them over his shoulder. “I promise to bring back your cut when we get back!”

“Take care~! Drive safe this time you hooligan~!” Pa called after them as he waves goodbye. Crow opened the door for Kenny, still wrapping his head around all of this as they both walked to the car. He gently popped open the trunk of the car and starts loading them in, getting a good smell of the brownies as he loads them in. Crow starts to realize exactly what made these brownies so “special” as he detects a hint of another ingredient under the smell of sweet chocolate and frosting. “Ah, I see…”

“Smells magical don’t it~?” Kenny chuckled at him as he loads the last of the brownie boxes into the trunk, grabbing the wagon and setting it on the sidewalk.

“It smells like something interesting alright,” Crow gently closes the trunk and climbs into the passenger seat, buckling up quickly as Kenny climbs into the driver's seat shortly after.

“We have a few stops to make and then I’ll go over our goals~” Kenny starts up the car and puts it in drive.

“Alright,” Crow gives a slight nod to Kenny as they take off onto the road. He folded his hands politely into his lap as he looked at Kenny, silently focusing as Kenny spoke up again.

“Alright, now to catch you up~ My monstah brothahs in the gang are well known for our... special edible productions as you've probably already smelled,” Kenny smoothly drives as he talks, this time completely focusing on the road as he updates Crow. “I am in charge of creating and producing such an amazing and magical ingredient that makes these goods irresistible! so of course, a lot of big shots want a taste and it's really profitable. But, we've also come across a bit of turf trouble with our flashy rivals known as The Peacocks.”

Crow perks slightly at this, he’s heard of the Peacock gang, not only were they flashy as Kenny says, but they especially loved to show off and gloat. It was almost comical how well they lived up to their name. Colorful, flashy, loud, prideful, a bad mix for a gang in Crow’s opinion.

I mean, I don't mind a bit of bling now and then-,” funny coming from him since he's wearing like twelve rings and three gold chains. Crow silently judging, but said nothing since after all, Kenny was still his boss. As laid back as he acted, he didn’t want to say something that would end up angering him. “-but really going out there on the style really brings too much attention. Sometimes my dude, it ain't even the good kind. Any who, they're known for their baking production of special magic monster "flour". also really profitable, but not as easy to hide from what I can tell.”

“It doesn't seem like it would be,” Crow finally spoke up after he gets more comfortable, gazing out the window coldly. “the brownies you have smell sweet and overwhelmingly chocolatey, it hides the ingredient well while keeping a distinct smell, I'm sure it tastes rather good since you have two skilled bakers making them. It's hard to match that.”

“Heh~ Nice to know you caught on~ Saves me some explaining,” he smiled at Crow then continued his explanation. “Any who, it's not just our stealth in our sales that make the bank, it's also our routes. Our clients pay top G for our baked goods and recently the Peacocks decided to get our very clients hooked on their products. Which is a problem, because now they're flooding into our turf, taking our bank, sneaking their cheap ass powder and setting up sample sales to get more and more of our clients hooked.”

“I see… so, we have to chase them out of our turf or wipe them out, right?” he glanced at Kenny as he said this, after all, they couldn’t just let the Peacock members settle into their territory so comfortably.

“Me? HA!! Fuck no~!” Kenny chirps, taking Crow off guard as he continues. “You're my bodyguard while I do the business. You know, keep the pests away. You'll do the exterminations at night with Ryan.”

“Ryan?” he questioned as he raised an eyebrow at Kenny, he didn’t see Ryan’s picture nor name in the files he was given.

“He's boss's top assassin. I think you'll like him! All dark, mysterious and brooding, just like you~!” he gives Crow a happy smile as he glanced at him, teasing him slightly.

Crow couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that and looks away, his lips twitching again as he forces himself not to smile at the plant monsters goofiness. He feels the car slow down to make a turn, but perks his head when he spots police cars parked on the side of the street, they could both see cops arresting some Peacock members outside of an apartment building. 

Kenny quickly keeps driving with a nervous look, cursing to himself as he speeds up. “Shit, that was one of our routes. Damn Peacocks gonna run our business to the ground. Or even worse, get us caught.”

“They really are too flashy, it’s only going to lead to trouble for us,” Crow mused as he glances around carefully, thinking about what to do next as he keeps an eye out to make sure they weren’t being followed by cops. “Have you thought about expanding your clients?”

“Expand the business? No can do, my monstah. If we try to expand we might end up in some other gang's territory. Besides, it's them damn bird brain's fault for getting into our bit because their bit isn't doing well,” he takes a breath as he rubs his head, seeming frustrated but forcing himself to calm down as he drives. “This is fine, we'll just... go to our next rout.”

Kenny gently turns the car and drives towards a more expensive looking apartment, parking the car once they reach it. He gently unbuckles his seatbelt and steps out, circling around the car to the trunk to get their “special brownies” out to sell. Crow gently stepped out of the car as he gazes up at the more expensive looking complex, looking around cautiously as he rubs his star necklace through his shirt. He never knew why, but everytime he touched the glass star, his worried washed away and he was filled with Patience. It was almost soothing like rain drops.

“You wanna help me sell~?” Kenny walked up to his side, pulling Crow out of his thoughts as he offered the brownie boxes with a smile. Crow gently studies the boxes then gives a silent nod, taking some of the boxes from Kenny and holds them carefully against his chest.

“Alright~! Come along, french fry!” he grins as walks over to the front gates. Crow raised his eyebrow at the nickname then shrugs as he follows him, deciding silently that he didn’t mind it all too much. When Kenny reaches the front gate, he rings all the buttons at once and steps back, a mesh of crackly and low quality responses yell from the speaker. A few sounded annoyed, others were cautious and some were just curious.

“Girl scout cookies~!” he chimed at the speaker. All at once the speaker goes silent, then after a few moments, the gates opens slowly. “Heh~ Let's go~”

Crow silently follows him in, a calm look on his face as they make their way up the stairs quickly. The sales go fairly smoothly, Kenny would knock on the doors, the clients would pay him and he would give them the grinch brownies, which were wrapped in a plastic baggy and tide closed with a green ribbon. By the time they were done with the first few apartments, they had already made 200G. As they head up the stairs, Kenny suddenly perks, hearing a strange clang of the entrance from below them.

“huh...?” he could hear weird clangs coming up the stairs, like someone trying to pull a heavy wagon up the stairs. Kenny looks to Crow with panicked eyes, was there a possibility a Peacock gang member is here? If so, they could get them caught and arrested. Kenny mumbled a soft “shit shit” to himself as Crow gazes over the railing carefully. He could clearly see a peacock member trying to pull his product up the stairs with a bit of a struggle, the wheels making a thud on every step.

Crow looked at Kenny seriously and whispers to him, “it’s a peacock member..”

Kenny gets an even more panicked look at this discovery and waves his hands around quickly as he whispers back, “well, get rid of him!”

“As you wish,” Crow wasted no time climbing onto the railing, judging the distance between him and the Peacock member. Once they struggle their wagon up a little closer, he takes this chance to strike, jumping down and pinning them down onto the staircase, slamming his hand over their mouth to muffle their cries of shock from his surprise attack. What he didn’t take into account, however, was the wagon full of goods they let go of, rolling straight down the staircase and crashing into the door, setting off the alarm. Crow’s eyes widen as he realizes his mistake, quickly slamming the peacock member’s head into the staircase to knock them out then quickly runs down the stairs, rushing to the door in an attempt to turn off the alarm system.

“Shit shit shit!” Kenny runs down the stairs with a panicked look, seeing the knocked out gang member and the mess of their product scattered around the door. “Shit! We need to leave, now!”

Crow quickly punches through the alarm system, grabbing some wire and ripping it out, miraculously turning off the alarms going off. He throws down the wire and quickly makes his way out with Kenny, wasting no time beelining right towards the gates. They both hear sirens in the distance and take off towards the car.

“Shit Shit Shit Shit!!” Kenny chants to himself as he quickly throws the brownies into the car then scrambles into the driver's seat, starting up the car in a panic. Crow practically throws himself into the passenger's seat, not even bothering to buckle up as he roughly shouts, “let’s go!”

Kenny instantly shifted gears and slammed on the gas, taking off before the police arrived. He started to hyperventalate as he drove, freaking out quite badly as he yelled, “God, fucking, Gah!! That was too close!!”

“My apologies, my execution was done quite poorly,” Crow stated cooly as he forced himself to calm down, noticing how Kenny seemed to be having a panic attack. “You need to take deep breaths or you’ll pass out…”

“Oh man, oh god, the boss is going to be so mad!” Kenny practically gripped the steering wheel as if his life depended on it, stress and panic was written all over his face. Crow felt a slight pain of guilt through him as he studied Kenny’s panicked face, after all, it was his fault that they had to abandon their route. If he had been more careful, they would’ve made more sales. He thinks about it carefully then looks at Kenny with a calm look. 

“Sir, it wasn’t your fault, it was mine. I’m going to own up to my actions and talk to the boss…” Crow leaned back into his seat and buckled up as he said this, already trying to think of what he will say to their boss. Kenny looked at him with shocked eyes then shakes his head rapidly.

“Nah man, I can’t let you do that!” Kenny knew it was suicidal to confess that a mistake was made to the boss, let alone to say you screwed up an entire sale.

“It’s ok, I’m fine with it..” Crow looked at him with determined eyes, it seems his mind was already set and wasn’t going to change. “Let me take the blame…”

Kenny didn’t look so sure but slowly nodded as he drove on. The nervous look on his face setting in further as he drove, he silently hoped that Crow knew what he was doing. As soon as they had reached the Phoenix headquarters, they were instantly summoned in front of the Boss, both of them already knowing what it was about and silently dreading what was about to happen next. 

The Phoenix boss slams their fists on their desk angrily, causing Kenny to flinch with a guilty look. They whisper in an angry hush to their bodyguard. The large bulldog nodded then turns his attention to the two with a dark glare. 

“Boss wishes to know why we are so low in profit,” he grumbled in a deep unamused voice, fully expecting a good explanation as he studied the two. Kenny nervously taps his fingers together, seeming to try to find the words to explain but Crow beats him to it.

“It was my fault,” he bluntly states as he gazes up at them respectfully. “A peacock member was in the building and I jumped them poorly, their wagon triggered the alarm and I made us flee before the cops came, I apologize for my behavior which costed us.” 

The Boss tilts their head slightly at this information then whispers to their bodyguard.

“So, now the peacocks are reaching our common grounds, ey?” one of the bulldogs tilted to them slightly as one of the other heads stay low to listen to their boss. Kenny winces as he taps his finger tips together more nervously, stuttering,” i-it would... seem to be t-that way sir.”

The bodyguard listens to his boss again then straightens himself up, regarding them with serious eyes. “This is becoming a real problem. Noir, because you are a newbie, we will forgive this slip up this time. you can make up for it by accompanying Ryan on pest control tonight.”

“Yes sir, I apologize again, I will do better next time,” Crow bows his head respectfully with blank eyes, determined to make sure he does perfect next time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note: Kenny is my friend Brian's character, all credit goes to them, some of these characters are my own and some are their's ^^ and if you are confused on why there are no Undertale or other Undertale AU characters, trust me, they'll show up, I promise~!


	2. Chapter 2

It was around 8:00pm in downtown Pheasant city. Inside a fair sized apartment, the lone TV in the living room played a news cast of a mysterious hitman wiping out nearly half of a gang known as the Peacocks, the stylish news anchor on screen continued on to say that the identity of said killer is still unknown. A green-blue humanoid slime was home alone in his apartment, freshening up for a date, it seems, in his bathroom mirror. His tendrils on his head formed into dreadlocks for hair, the top was a green-yellow tint that faded into a green-blue hue that matched the rest of his body as it went down. he tied back his hair neatly with some ribbon as he studied himself in the mirror, smoothing out his hands over his curvy sides and wide hips to get rid of any wrinkles in his clothes. He was completely unaware of the unwanted house guests sneaking into his home as he smooths out his shirt. The intruders silently sneak into his home through the windows, looking completely armed and deadly, it seems they were sent to kill him.

The intruders reach his bedroom quietly reaches his bedroom, the leader raising his hand when he hears the sound of running water from the door of the bedroom bathroom. The slime monster washes off his hands gently until he heard his phone go off, out in the bedroom on top of his dresser. He tilts his head slightly then opens the door, coming out of the bathroom only to be met with his unwanted house guests. The slime monster just stared at them as he walks over to his phone without seeming to miss a beat, taking it off of his dresser to look at the text that appeared on his screen, it showed the sentence, "are you almost ready, babe~?" under the contact of Al with hearts next to it. He glances at his intruders then texts back, "give me 30."

The slime monster then pockets his phone and pulls some ties out of his dresser, starting to tie them together as the intruders readied to attack him, they almost seemed confused by his behavior and how calm he was. the monster then hits a button on the speaker, starting up some music as he turns swiftly to throw the loop of the tie onto one of the intruders, lassoing them around the neck before throwing the other side into a large fan he had on, pulling that caught intruder into the fan and shredding him apart. He then turns to the other intruders and braces himself for their attacks as they come charging in.

They never stood a chance, as one intruder charged in with a knife he simply grab their hand and forces it back, making them stab themselves in the throat. As soon as the another intruder comes swinging at him with the bat, the slime monster catches the bat with his other hand, grabbing the knife out of the other's throat before stabbing into the intruders arm and kicks him down. The other “unwanted guests” could only here yelping and thuds from the other room, they gave each other sight scared looks, the only warning they received before a body comes flying at them through the wall.

The slime monster strides into the room, easily taking down each and every intruder that tries to surprise attack him, a trail of dust flowing behind him with each killed intruder as he ended up in the kitchen. There was dinner cooking on the stove, it was obvious he had been preparing for a date before being so rudely interrupted. The monster quickly ducks as an intruder swings their bat at him, he quickly grabs a frying pan full of hot oil and salmon and throws the oil on the intruder's face before proceeding to slam the pan into the intruders face, knocking him to the ground as another attacker comes rushing at him.

He quickly grabbed the boiling water on the stove and throws the hot water full of half cooked pasta straight into their face then grabs their head and slams it into the hot stove. He coldly grabs a meat cleaver and sliced off their hand right onto the cutting board.

“AHHHH!!!!” the intruder screamed and rolled over onto the ground, clutching their arm as they bleed out. Two more attackers circle around the kitchen island as they head straight towards him, one holding a knife while the other gripped chains tightly in their fists. The slime monster flips the blade of the cliever upwards on the kitchen island, taking hold of the knife wielders head when he charges and slamming it directly onto the cleaver. As for the one charging at him with chains, he swiftly open a cabinet door, slamming it into their face which knocked them out instantly. He then grabs some silverware and tosses them in the microwave before pressing the popcorn button and running into the next room, the silver sparking dangerously as it rotated in the microwave.

The strangling intruders left in the apartment run in then freezes when they see the microwave, trying in vain to back up quickly but it was too late for them. The microwave explodes, sending them flying into the wall and killing them instantly. Everything seemed quiet now, it seemed there were no more intruders, or at least no more that stuck around if they knew what was good for them. 

The slime monster walks into the clean dining room that had a lovely display fit for a romantic date, sighing as he tapped his chin lightly in thought, mumbling to himself about how the apartment now had all sorts of “trash and dust” in it. The doorbell rang gently, making him perk and stride over to it swiftly, dusting himself off from the poor intruders dust then opens the door gently with a small smirk.

There in the doorway stood a tall and muscular male human, his brown eyes twinkling in amusement as he smirked down at the smaller monster, it was only to be assumed that this was the “Al” that had texted him earlier on his phone. Al gently let himself in as the slime man stood aside for him, he never took his eyes off the smaller monster as his head tilted in an almost seductive way.

“Hey babe~ ready for our date~?” the man practically purred as he slid his hands onto the monsters hips gently, leaning down to kiss his cheek and neck. The slime monster nodded as he tilted his head to the side to give him access to his neck, but he seemed almost annoyed at the mess in the apartment.

“Please excuse the mess, I had a few… unwanted visitors,” the monster huffed but relaxed as Al continued to kiss down his neck.

“It’s no problem at all~” he chuckled deeply and leans down to go further but hears a phone go off in the monsters pocket, it seems to be a familiar ringtone. He groans in dismay as he pulls back, looking the small monster in the eyes. “Please don’t tell me that’s work calling you Ryan…”

Ryan grunts as he takes out his phone and looks at the screen in annoyance. “Ahhh, shiiiiit….”

“It is isn’t it?...” Al groaned as he nuzzled Ryan’s neck with a displeased look. “Daaaamn babe, don’t I get you for myself at least once~?”

“I thought I told him I needed off for today,” the slime monster sighs as he nuzzles back then pulls away, heading somewhere private to answer the call. “Look, I’ll see what he wants now and see if he’ll piss off.”

The man sighs and shifts unhappily but waits patiently for his lover to return as he takes a seat at the dining table. Ryan walks into the other room and answers the phone with an impatient, “yeah, what you need?”

A gruff male voice could be heard from the phone as they spoke to him. “Ryan, I know you needed off today, but Boss needs you to quick set up the newbie with extermination duty, then you can have the rest of the night off.”

“I am NOT canceling my date to deal with some newbie. Training some for pest control can take all night!” Ryan was fuming as he paced, he was NOT ruining his and his lovers night just to deal with a headache.

“Trust me, it won’t, not with this guy, just set him up with the basics and he’ll be set, he’s already got past experience,” this made Ryan relax only slightly, he was still furious that his night was being interrupted more. He growled low as he rubbed his forehead.

“Fine! Where is he?” there was a knock at the door right when he said this, making him perk slightly and turn with narrow eyes towards the sound.

“Already there by now,” the gruff voice said from the phone right before Ryan hangs it up and goes to his desk to grab some files. Al perks from the knock at the door and stands, walking up to it and opening it up. He was greeted with the sight of a man with two toned hair, one side black and one side grey, staring up at him with mismatched blue eyes in a form of a blank stare.

Crow regarded Al up and down quietly then stares up at his face, straightening up to show respect. “Are you Ryan?”

“No, who the fuck are you?” Al instantly growls at him with narrow eyes, getting hostile and accusing right off the bat, looking like he was about to choke Crow out just for showing his face at the door. Ryan storms to the door from behind Al and looks at the Crow with a hard glare on his face.

“you the newbie?” says the... quite feminine looking slime monster. This was the dark and brooding guy Kenny was talking about? Crow thought this as he regarded Ryan with blank eyes. no way someone so short and so cute can be a cold blooded killer... at least that what Crow would've thought if he hadn't spotted the quite obvious monster dust littering his clothes. Oh, I see…

He gave a curt nod to Ryan respectfully. “Yes, I’m Crow Noir, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Ah, he’s from your workplace, ok..” the man slowly relaxed, crossing his arms but still kept looking at Crow suspiciously as if he would try something funny at any moment.

“Do you know how to use a gun?” Ryan bluntly asks without skipping a beat, watching Crow coldy as he nods softly. “Do you know how to use a knife?”

“Yes sir…” He nods again as his eyes scanned the room behind Ryan, noticing A LOT of dust everywhere. Ryan must have encountered some unexpected guests, it seems he truly did live up to his name of being the Boss’s top assassin.

“You ok with killing some annoying fuckers?” Ryan raises an eyebrow at him as he shifts onto one leg with a serious look.

“Absolutely.” Crow held out his hands for the files, keeping Ryan’s eye contact with a matching serious expression, it seems that the monster over the phone was right, he seems to have had experience and knows what he’s getting into.

“Good,” he hands the files over then waves his hand dismissively. “Here are some of my assigned hunting spots, go crazy or whatever. Now shoo.”

Crow nodded and gave a respectful bow then tucks the files under his arm as he walks away swiftly, a determined look set on his face as he quickly made his way out. Al watched him go with a slight impressed look then grins excitedly at Ryan. “was that all~?”

“Yeah, I had to skip over some stuff to make it quick, but eh… who cares?” Ryan scoffed as he closed the door then gave a sexy smirk up at the taller man. “Now~ where were we~?”

“Getting to the good part~” Al chuckled and gently starts kissing him again, his hands working his way back down again. After they had made their way through the ruined apartment and into the bedroom, a tangle of limbs and bed sheets could briefly be seen before the door closed swiftly. A few giggles and chuckles could be heard from the bedroom door before it was whimpers and moans, the sound of the rhythmic squeaking of their old bed was heard for a while before there was complete silence. 

Al nuzzled into Ryan’s naked back, kissing it gently as he let out a satisfied groan. “Best date night ever~”

“More like a nightly stand, but yea, it was still nice~” Ryan rolled over into his chest and cuddled into it, sighing as he nuzzled the broad area of flesh. He suddenly hears slamming against the door and sits up swiftly with an annoyed look. “The hell?!”

“What now?” Al groaned in frustration as gets up, lazily tossing on some pants before making his way to the front door. He slams it open, about to yell at whoever was slamming on the door this late at night but gets shocked when he sees Crow standing at the door.

Crow stares up at him, his clothing covered in splotches of blood and dust as he stands respectfully at the door. “Is Ryan still here? I eliminated all the targets, evidence has been disposed of, I was only going to ask him if there anything else for tonight or may if I retire for the evening.”

Al just stood in shock, not quite sure what to say as Ryan comes up from behind him in his robe, getting pissed when he sees it’s Crow. “Wait seriously? it's 11 and night! besides, you're supposed to report to boss about this. not me. don't give me more work to do!” 

“My apologies, I’m sorry for disturbing you,” Crow bows his head in apology. “I’ll take my leave then, have a good rest of your night.”

“Wait!” Al protested, looking confused and even pissed. “There was no way you did that in an hour! There was at least 10 files!”

“I’m a perfectionist, I always get the job done quick and clean,” he stared at Al blankly then turned away. “Sorry again for disturbing your night, have a good night.”

Ryan stares after him as he walked away then sighed in annoyance, closing the door and rubbing his head in tiredly. “I’m too tired for this shit, let’s just go to bed. I have a big mess to clean up tomorrow.”

“Right…” Al nods with a confused look as he slowly followed him, glancing at the door then shrugging as he padded back to the bedroom. ‘Weird two faced freak…’

…...

The next day rolled around, light gently shining into the windows of the room at Phoenix Headquarters, Crow and Kenny once again finding themselves standing before their Boss and his ever present three headed bodyguard. The bulldog regarded them both with cold eyes as the boss kept his chair facing away from them as usual, but the bodyguards eyes pinpointed straight onto Crow today, looking at him with slightly more respect. “The boss is impressed with the wipe out last night. Are you sure you left no trace behind?”

“Absolutely sir, I checked over the sites meticulously before I left last night, everything is taken care of,” Crow stands straight as he keeps his head held high, seeming to hold himself higher as he talks. “I made sure no mistakes were made this time.”

Their Boss whispers to the bodyguard quietly, one of the bulldogs head tilting towards him to hear his whispers then nods gently. “good good. Your usual routes have been changed for today.”

“Huh?” Kenny perked in shock over this, a new route? This was definitely unexpected.

The Boss whispers to their bodyguard again, making the bulldog nod again. “you will be going to the Cathouse tonight to see if we can spread business there.”

Kenny eyes instantly gleamed with excitement, he excitedly grinned, looking like a little kid that was just told they were going to Disney World. “The Cathouse?! The most popular and partytastic nightclub known to monster kind?! Are you for real?!”

The Bodyguard grunts unhappily as he narrowed his eyes down at Kenny. “calm down, weed.”

Crow perked only slightly at the news, he hid his excitement internally as he kept his composure straight and professional. He knew exactly which clubhouse they were talking about and who owned it. For him, this would be a piece of cake.

More whispers could be heard before the bodyguard regarded them with serious eyes. “After the fiasco with the peacocks, we may need another place to spread to make a profit. usually it's not like us to work with others, but at this time it feels like a good decision. a place full of people, easy to blend into, plus a popular area, very good place to do business. all we need is the okay from the bosses themselves.”

“Got it got it, toootally got ya, big man! we can totes get 'em to sign off on this shindig dealio~!” Kenny gave a thumbs up, he was practically bursting with excitement as he bounced in place a little.

“Cool it, weed. your idiocy is showing,” the bulldog looked especially unamused by Kenny’s behavior.

Kenny covered his crotch with wide eyes, looking down. “Where?!”

Crow nearly choked then cleared his throat to stop himself from laughing, which was hard to do since Kenny’s antics was really getting to him. “Yes sir, understood.”

More whispers could be heard before the bulldog straightened himself back up. “You are to report back with ONLY good news. now off you go.”

“yes sir~!” Kenny saluted to them playfully before heading out of the room, Crow trailing behind him gently.

“oh, one more thing, Crow,” Crow paused at the door and turned around to look up at the bodyguard again. “You will be working with Ryan again on sending a warning message to them stupid peacocks. they should know better than to trespass onto our turf.”

Crow nodded politely and bowed his head. “Understood sir, I’ll get it done…” 

The bulldog nodded back then watched with a steel gaze as Crow straightened back up and left the room swiftly. 

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit~!” Kenny practically yelled in excitement when Crow caught back up with him. “We’re gonna party~! WOO~!!”

Crow couldn’t help but roll his eyes fondly and shook his head then quickly speeds up so he was walking side by side with him. “I have to warn you something though before we go in, Do Not let anyone kiss you, especially french kiss you.”

Kenny slowed his walk as he looked at Crow, confusion taking over his face. “Wait, what?”

“At the club, some people there will transfer drugs through a kiss,” he opens his mouth and points to the bottom of his tongue, which caught Kenny completely off guard when he sees that Crow’s tongue was actually an ecto tongue instead of a human tongue, the ecto magic shone in the faint light, blue with a hint of gold in it. “Right under here, it's faster than a roofie and you won’t know what hit you until it's too late.”

Kenny stares at his tongue a little too long then swallows with an uncomfortable shiver, thinking about what he said as they head out of headquarters and towards Kenny’s car. “J-Jeez... okay. I-I'll keep that in mind.”

“Good.” Crow walks ahead of him, reaching the car and opening up the passenger side for Kenny. “After you.”

Kenny perked a little then chuckles playfully at him. “Ohooo~ where’s this coming from dude~?”

Crow gives a slight huff as he looks away, trying to show he was uncaring of Kenny’s playful teasing. “Just get in the car, please.”

Kenny just chuckles more then climbs into the passenger seat. “What next, you driving me too~?”

“Of course,” Crow stoops down to Kenny's level to look him in the eyes. “After all, I'm your bodyguard, I should know how to treat you right,” he gently teases with a small playful wink before closing the door and going to the drivers side, climbing in and buckling up swiftly. Kenny's relaxed personality was started to rub off on him, and he didn't know if he should welcome or hate it.

“aw, come on, ya don't have to do that, my monstah~” Kenny leaned back and got comfortable in his seat, and much to Crow’s annoyance, not bothering to buckle up as he splayed in the seat. “I ain't no king, ya don't have to treat me like royalty just because i'm ya superior~”

“I was raised with manners, I shouldn't throw them away unless someone doesn't deserve them,” Crow glances away from Kenny as he starts up the car then focuses his gaze back onto the road as he takes off, smoothly driving the car naturally, already knowing where to go. “Try to think of it instead that you're someone who's earned the right to have my respect and politeness, it’s a privilege one can easily lose.”

“Is that so~?” Kenny chuckles as he grabs a beer from the cooler, popping it open as he snuggles up into his seat. “jeez, french fry~ if i didn't know any better, I'd say you're warming up to me~”

“Don’t get cocky,” he huffed at Kenny as he continued to drive, his voice holding no harshness in it as he said this, it sounded almost like a fond roughness rather than a harsh tone.

“Aww admit it~ you like me~” Kenny grinned at him before taking a big swig of his beer.

“I tolerate you,” Crow rolled his eyes but Kenny could see a hint of a smile tugging at his lips, it was subtle but still there. Kenny chuckled at him, knowing the truth as he took another swig of his beer. The plant monster then noticed police cars flying past them, heading straight for Ryan’s old hunting grounds. “Hm?”

Crow just briefly glanced at the cop cars before returning his eyes on the road, saying nothing as he drives just a little faster to get to their destination quicker. He spots the building and slowly pulled into the parking lot, parking the car in front of the clubhouse, the large sign on the front of the building spelling out “Cathouse Club”, and if the building lights had been on, Crow was sure that the bold letter would be flashing different shades of purple in all its grand and showy glory. “We’re here…”

Kenny looks at the front doors excitedly then gives probably the saddest and most heart broken puppy dog eyes in the world upon simply reading the recognizable words on the front door... ‘Closed’. “noooooo! it's cloooosed!”

“Hm… hold on, wait here until I signal you,” Crow gently turned off the car and exits it, closing the car door then walks straight to the front doors of the quiet clubhouse. He gently knocks on the door, but it wasn’t a regular knock, it sounded more like a heart beat pattern. There was a quiet sound of footsteps and shuffling on the other side of the door, then, a figure from the other side of the tinted glass doors is seen walking towards him. The door opens just a crack, the figure seemed annoyed as white eyelights glared out at him until their eyes widened, seeming to recognize Crow.

“Hey~” he gives a small smile, tilting his head slightly as he kept eye contact with them. “Miss me~?”

A fist flies out of the doors and bops Crow one in the nose, making him stumble back slightly in surprise, but it seemed like it didn’t hurt him too badly.

“Asshole, you threw me under the bus!” an angry voice hissed at Crow venomously. it was oddly familiar, like that of an angsty teenager throwing a fit.

Crow rubbed his nose but kept smiling at the figure behind the door, it seemed whoever was hiding behind the tinted glass was someone he already has a history with, maybe not a good history it seems. “heh~ I did not, you're dad was bound to know Copycat~ you can't be still mad over that~”

The figure growls as he steps into the light, revealing himself to be a skeleton with horns, blackened fingers, and a long tail with a spade at the end. His face was sharp and slightly feminine, it seemed to be set in a permanent scowl as he glared up at the hybrid since he was slightly shorter than him, despite the talons he had for feet that raised him up higher than most. Any arrogant, religious human would’ve called the smaller skeleton a demon, but Crow knew better as he gazed down at him with slight amused eyes. Copycat, or Cat for short, flicked his tail angrily as he got into Crow’s face, which didn’t faze the stone face bodyguard one bit. “The hell i can't! dad grounded me for months! I wasn't even allowed to host any of the parties! I was forced to sleep! AT. NIGHT!!”

“damn, such tragedy, such sorrow~” He teases playfully like an older brother with a younger sibling then quickly blocks his face when he sees Copycat raise his fists to punch him again. “Alright alright, chill~! I've actually come to make it up to you. I have something that you might be interested in that will liven up your parties~”

“Funny,” Copycat crossed his arms with narrowed suspicious eyes. “never figured you to be the partying type, ya dull, bland, boring-ass shmook.”

“Ouch, oh god, my feelings,” Crow fakes a pained look sarcastically, over dramatically clutching his chest just to annoy Copycat. “I used to like parties, I just don’t trust parties anymore after I was drugged at YOUR party ya know.” 

He gives Kenny the signal to come over, but it seems the plant monster was star struck, just sitting in the car with starry eyes and practically drooling as he stares at Copycat through the car window, it was blatantly clear he was a total fanboy for the skeleton.

“Uhhh…?” Copycat raised an eyebrow then looks at Crow unhappily. “Your friend has a bit of a staring problem.”

Crow facepalmed with a deep sigh, already getting slightly embarrassed. “He’s just… a big fan.”

He quickly strode over to the car door and swiftly opened it, giving Kenny a stern look. “Kenny, put on a professional face, we need to sell these brownies.”

Kenny snaps out of it and blinks rapidly at Crow. “U-uh, right! Right!”

He tries to shuffle out of the car quickly but accidentally ends up tripping over, falling straight onto his face and groaning in pain. Copycat just raises a brow and gives them both a look, finding them strange. 

Crow gave a deep, heavy sigh as he covers his face, trying not to let the embarrassment over take him. “Ok…. I guess I’ll handle this.”

He gently helps Kenny to his feet and dusts him off then walks around the car, opening the trunk and gently takes out a box of brownies. Crow heads back over to Copycat and opens the box for him to look inside. “This is what we are offering…”

Copycat peers into the box then glances at them with a raised eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “brownies?..” 

“n-not just any brownies! These brownies, are "medical" in a sense. Eheh, my special mix~” Kenny says this proudly, almost puffing out his chest as he smiles at him, clearly trying to impress Copycat.

“Is that so?” he says, clearly not looking convinced one bit.

“trust me, I also thought at first, ‘what's the big deal?’, but these are easily hideable, baked by the most skilled bakers who have been trained well in their craft and,” He raises the box closer to Copycat so he can have a good smell of the brownies. “you smell that?”

Copycat perked in slight shock when he got a good inhale of the brownies. The smell was certiantly stronger when it was brought up closer, it was chocolatey and sweet, but that’s not what made him perk up. Copycat could detect that "special mix" underneath the scent of chocolate and frosting, and he could tell it was pure by the smell alone. It was the best quality, which meant it would give the best and purest effects when eaten. He swallowed slightly. “I-Is that…?”

“Mhmm, absolutely pure, all thanks to this man,” Crow wraps his arm around Kenny to emphasize his point then raises an almost cocky eyebrow at Copycat. “Interested~?”

He crossed his arms and tilted his head thoughtfully, he couldn’t help but be interested. “hmmm, what's the catch?”

“No catch! Really!” Kenny waves his hands quickly with a big reassuring smile. “We just sell the brownies at your party, you can get a discount on said brownies, you're party gets poppin', we all win~”

“hmmm, tempting,” Copycat taps his finger against his chin as he runs it over in his head. “Are there side effects I should be worried about? I don't want the club to be responsible for any casualties.”

Kenny shook his head quickly. “Unless anyone has a nut allergy, no~ we can even bring cookies for the lightweights.”

“Heh~” He finally relaxed as he thought it over then nods. “Alright alright, we can do that. My next shindig is ta'night. Ya'll better be there with the goods.”

Crow relaxed, slightly relieved as he gave a small smile. “Will do, thank ya Cat~”

“Yeah yeah, shut it, old fart,” he huffed as he headed back inside the clubhouse quickly then slams the door shut harshly behind him. Kenny bounced with excited eyes. 

“holy shit,holy shit, holy shit~! We actually just got personal invites to mister cat's party~!” he gives out an excited, fanboy squee, looking like he was about to burst from happiness.

Crow stiffles his laugh behind his hand and rolls his eyes, finding Kenny’s reaction ridiculous but also… adorable? He didn’t dwell further into that thought. “Jesus, yer such a fan boy~”

“Wait a minute,” Kenny suddenly freezes up for a moment, going completely quiet which startled Crow a little. He then grabs Crow by the shoulders, almost shaking him as he yells. “HOW DO YOU TWO KNOW EACH OTHER?!?!” 

Crow looks away, not quite meeting his eyes as he gives a shrug. “His dad is a family friend of mine…”

Kenny gasps extremely loudly as he stared up at him with wide eyes. “You… personally know… the freaking head of both the nightclub and THE MOST POPULAR CASINOS?!”

Crow quickly shushes him and looks around, checking to see if anyone heard before looking him back in the eyes. “Yes ok? Only a few people know and we wanna keep it that way.”

“Huh? Why though?” Kenny looked confused at that, after all, usually people would be flaunting and boasting about just knowing people so powerful, let alone actually knowing them on a personal level.

Crow paused, seeming to calculate his words carefully before he speaks. “I could be exploited and used against him. Don't get me wrong, I can handle myself quite well, but if anybody from his rivaled gang knew about me, well.... let's just say I don't want that to happen.”

  
Kenny looked even more confused at this, especially since it seemed he was hiding more than he was letting on, but before he could ask, Crow already started walking towards the car while talking over his shoulder. “Come on, we have a party to prepare for.”

“I’ll call Ma and Pa about the order we’ll need to pick up,” He quickly followed after Crow, fumbling out his phone and dialing on it quickly. 

“Sounds good,” Crow opens the door to the car, watching Kenny climb in before closing it and making his way around the car. Once he got settled into the driver's seat, he heard Kenny groan in dismay making him glance over. 

“ah shit! wha'do i wear?! i need tah look my best fo ta'night!” he looked distressed as he bounced his leg nervously, waiting with his phone pressed to his ear.

“Do you want me to help you?” Crow peered at him as he started up the car, because let’s face it, out of the two, Crow was better dressed for professionalism and style.

“nah man, I need to get my party clothe's ou-” he cuts himself off when a voice is heard faintly on the phone, getting excited again as he bounces. “heyyyyy, ma! so uh, good news. well, more like exciting news~!"

Crow rolled his eyes as Kenny practically gushes and fanboys all over again, he couldn’t help but chuckle as he pulled the car out of the parking lot and back onto the cracked road. He supposed he could let Kenny be excited, even for a little bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note: Ryan and Copycat belong to Brian as well, I will always try to give credit where credit is due! I hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: violence, in one scene there is implied torture

In a luxury apartment deep in the city, Kenny was digging through his closet for something to wear while Crow sat on the bed, helping him pick out an outfit for their arrangement at the club that night. “Should I go rich Kenny or cool Kenny? maybe chill Kenny would make me more approachable?”

“chill Kenny is definitely more approachable. don't want to intimidate him with your coolness, right?” Crow watches him with a slight amused look, he was actually having fun but didn't want to admit it. 

“Dude… You're like, so right~” he starts pulling out his more relaxed clothing with a confident look and laying it down on the bed next to Crow. “alright, so what color should I go with? Cool and confident or bold and passionate~?”

Before Crow could answer, his phone went off in his pocket. He blinks then picks it up and answers it. “hello?... yes I understand... no he's safe now, he'll be fine at his home... I'll go right away, where are we meeting?... absolutely, I'll be there in 10 minutes.... thank you sir, good bye.”

He hangs up the phone and looks at Kenny apologetically. “Unfortunately, I have to cut our time short.... you will be staying home until I get back.”

“Ugh, boooo! Where are you running off tah?” Kenny practically pouted which made Crow smile just slightly at how childish he was acting.  
“I have to do a mission with Ryan, I’m sure it won’t take long. After all,” he straightened out his tie with a dark serious look as he glanced at Kenny. “We are just sending a small warning…”

“Alright, but don’t take too long,” the plant monster decided to go with Passionate and Bold, holding the colorful clothing with a big smile at Crow. “I’m gonna need my bodyguard for ta’night~”

“I promise to be quick, I’ll be back before you know it,” he waved at Kenny before quickly exiting the room and out of the apartment, speed walking quickly out of the building and towards where he was supposed to meet Ryan.

……..

At the border of the two turfs, Ryan wait impatiently at the meet up spot for Crow to arrive as he held a briefcase at his side. He taps his foot impatiently and even checks his watch then perks and glances over when he heard approaching footsteps coming his way. Crow is seen in the distance jogging quickly, not even breaking so much as a sweat as he makes his way over to him quickly. 

He gently stopped in front of the slime monster, panting only slightly as he looked at him apologetically. “My apologies sir, I thought I would be here sooner.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, save the excuses for someone who gives a fuck,” Ryan practically spat at him then walks across the border, already in a foul mood from him arriving late. “come on.”

Crow only raised an eyebrow as he followed the angry slime, Kenny seriously compared him to this guy? He decided to still stay respectful and polite, after all, Ryan was still a higher rank than he was.

Ryan reaches the fire escape on an apartment building and quickly begins to climb it, not even bothering to glance at Crow to see if he was keeping up since he already made it more than obvious he didn’t care. Crow glanced around carefully as his hand felt over his necklace through his shirt for reassurance, a calm of wave washing over him as he faintly smelled rain, he was filled with Patience. He quickly climbed after Ryan on the fire escape, quickly catching up to him in no time as they continue to ascend. 

“I've already got everything set up, all we have to do it set it off,” Ryan climbs onto the roof and dusts himself off then sets down the briefcase he was carrying and pops it open, showing a sniper's rifle inside of it. he pulls out the parts and starts putting it together as Crow walks over to him. After he was done assembling the gun, Ryan tossed him a walkie talkie with a cold look.

Crow quickly caught it then glances at him cooly. “Would you like me to position myself on the other side of the border?”

“No shit, Sherlock, we can't have any more pests crawling under the vents,” it was clear from how Ryan sounded and the way he was aggressively setting up his gun that something was wrong, but Crow didn’t question his behavior as he slowly gave a nod and made his way back towards the fire escape. “Of course, let me know if you need anything.”

“Yeah yeah,” Ryan waved his hand dismissively in Crow’s direction as he positioned the sniper rifle, scanning through the scope with razor sharp focus.

It didn’t take long for Crow to make his way down the fire escape and back up onto another building on the other side of the border, when he reached the rooftop, he quickly turned on his walkie talkie and started to screw a silencer onto his gun. As he gets into his position, cocking his gun and scanning around carefully with his eyes, Crow felt something was off, it seemed too quiet, too still, not one person even walked by. “Hm…”

Ryan on the other hand did not seem to notice the quiet and silence on the other side of the border from his position, he only tapped his gun impatiently as he waited for something or someone to shoot at. He sighed and decides to contact Crow, reaching to the walkie talkie and pressing the button to speak into it. “Anything on your end? Mine is bland and boring.”

Crow glanced at his walkie talkie and lifts it, about to press the button to speak into it when he suddenly freezes, hearing rapid footsteps charging at him from behind. He turns quickly but reacts too late, getting tackled to the ground.

“Fuck-!” the wind gets knocked straight out of him as his radio gets thrown a distance away from the tackle. Crow punches the attacker off him, crawling back quickly, his eyes catching a glimpse of the peacock pin glinting in the light as the gang member stood back up. He quickly turns and crawls towards the walkie talkie, desperately reaching for it only to get dragged by his feet as more peacock members show up to ambush him. 

“Fuckers!!” He snarls as he lashes out, kicking a member in the face which causes them to stumble straight off the roof. Crow grabs another gang member and proceeds to punch them violent as more charge straight at him. Crow grabs his gun and shoots one in the head then aims behind him and shoots another in the gut with a steel cold gaze, paying no attention to the walkie talkie going off as he desperately fought off the surprise attack.

“Hello? Hey! Half bastard!” Ryan growled into the walkie talkie then rolled his eyes in frustration. “uuugh, of course he doesn't respond-” 

He suddenly perks, hearing someone behind him and he swiftly turns around, aiming his gun at the stranger with a glare then blinks in shock when he sees it’s his boyfriend. He slowly lowered his gun with a confused look, starting to get a bad feeling. “Huh?... what are you doing here?”

“no reason....” Al only smiled as he walked towards him, something seemed way, way off. It made Ryan’s stomach tighten in a sick way. Ryan slowly stood with an unsure look, his hands tightening around his gun as the feeling grew.

“Is everything alright, love?.. Why are you here?...”

“Everything is absolutely fine~ I just missed you so much~” Al comes over swiftly, his hands raising up and holding Ryan's face happily. “We never get a proper date night you know~ it isn't fair your workplace does this to you all the time~ calling you in on your day off just to deal with stupid pests~”

The feeling of something being off only grew worse as Ryan tensed up from his touch. Al’s smile didn't reach his eyes as he lightly traced his thumb over Ryan’s lip, he then noticed there was only one hand on his face now, where is there other one going?

Ryan finally had enough, shoving Al back roughly and pointing his gun back at him threateningly. “Hands up in the air!”

Al seemed shocked, raising one hand in the air as the other stayed behind his back. “What’s wrong babe? Don’t you trust me~?”

“Both hands, Al…” Ryan cocks his gun with a cold look, he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him. “Now.”

Al tilts his head, as if thinking about it then whips out a gun, pointing straight at him.

Ryan only chuckled, did he really think that would work on a slime monster immune to physical attacks? “Nice try, but bullets don’t work on-”

Al shoots the gun straight into Ryan’s leg, causing him to collapse with a pained cry and clutch his leg. “I’m sorry, what was that again~?”

“W-what the..” he pulls his hand away from his leg to see that it’s bleeding, he stares in horror and shock. No, no, no, that shouldn’t be possible! “H-how did-?”

“Surprised~? I bet you are~” Al only chuckled as he approached Ryan, a twisted smirk coming onto his face as he cocked his gun. “These are special made bullets to kill monsters like you~ and I'm going to take great joy in killing a filthy monster like you~” 

He gave a creepy smile then perks, hearing the sound of running footsteps against metal. “Hm?”

Crow charges up the fire escape then charges straight at Al with a low run and tackles him to the ground by his waist. He instantly begins punching Al’s side, trying to get him to let go of the gun. 

“GAH!! Mother fucker!!!” Al growls and drives his elbow straight into Crow’s back to get him off, rolling on the ground with him and wrestling to get the upper hand. Ryan slowly sits up with a pained look, panting as he clutched his gun and shakily took aim.

“stupid... f-fucking... racist... human... garbage…” he struggled to get a good aim, he couldn’t get a clear shot from the two thrashing around everywhere.

Crow struggles and punches Al straight in the face then gets kicked in the face and pinned to the ground underneath Al’s foot.

“stupid hybrid trash!! Just die!!” he shoves the gun against Crow's head as he goes to shoot. Crow somehow manages to grab it, attempting to pry it from Al’s hands but only ends up getting shot in the ear. “ AH! Fuck!!!”

Ryan finally gets a clear shot and instantly takes his opportunity to shoot straight into the racist bastards head. Al jerks, his eyes going blank as he slumps over, his head bleeding onto Crow’s face and shirt.

Crow instantly shoves off his body, panting and taking out a handkerchief to wipe his face with a disgusted look. “Gross…”

“ I should've... god damn knew he'd…” Ryan holds his leg as he tries to stand up but grunts in pain as he falls back onto his knees. “I have to report this to boss…”

Crow instantly comes over, offering his hand but Ryan only swats it away as he forces himself to stand back up onto his feet. “I’m fine, I’m fine…”

He took out his phone, dialing their boss’s number as Crow kneeled down next to him without him noticing. Crow inspected his wounded leg, the hole was pretty deep and still bleeding pretty heavily. As he inspected further, he noticed that the bullet was still inside Ryan’s leg, suspended in the ecto magic of Ryan’s thigh. “Hm… hold still for one moment please.” 

Ryan felt Crow’s hand holding his leg, his eyes instantly snapping towards him in rage as he gripped his phone angrily. “hey hey hey, what are you- GRAAAAAHHH!! FUCK!!”

Crow quickly pushes his finger into the wound then fishes out the bullet as quickly as he can. The bullet lands in his hand then he takes off his tie and quickly uses it as a makeshift bandage, tying it around Ryan's legs tightly. “There, the bullet would have done more damage of it stayed in you.”

Ryan only grunts with a pained look, he clearly wasn't pleased with Crow messing with his wound out of nowhere, but he says nothing about it as he dials up the boss’s number and waits. After all, Crow did save him from gaining anymore damage, he suppose that’s something. Ryan has acquired Crow's tie. He gets +3 armor. “what kind of fucking bullet penetrates through ecto magic? And does fucking damage?!”

“I'm not sure, but I know these stupid scum bags couldn't have thought of it on their own. They either bought it or someone made it for them,” Crow gently put the bullet into his handkerchief then winces and feels his bleeding ear. “Shit…”

“Someone knew we were coming,” Ryan glares at his now dead ex and spits on his corpse angrily. “Well, it seems their inside man is dead now.”

He turns away from the body when their boss finally picks up, speaking quickly as he strides away. “Boss, bad news. There was an inside man, they planned an ambush. They are also developing weapons to take out even the most powerful of monsters.”

Crow stands up and wipes the blood from the bullet, then studies it closely with a slight squint. He notices engravings on the bottom of the bullet and looked at them closely, nearly dropping it when he sees what the engravings spell out. WDG. His face goes pale as he stares at the letters, swallowing thickly and shaking ever so slightly. 

“Right, we are on our way, sir.” Ryan hangs up the phone then turns, raising an eyebrow when he sees Crow shaking. “What are you freaking out about?”

He swiftly walks over and picks up the bullet from his hand and studies it, noticing the engravings as well and squinting his eyes. “WDG… I wonder what that means…”

Crow clears his throat as he forces himself to stop shaking, straightening up and turning to Ryan with blank eyes. “We should bring this back to headquarters right away to get it analyzed.”

“Agreed,” he packs up his rifle and limps back to the fire escape, climbing down it carefully with Crow following close behind him. Although he kept his face blank and unreadable, Crow’s stomach was tightening in stress and anxiety as he thought about the engravings, his past coming back to haunt him all over again. Once they reach ground level, Ryan suddenly pauses and turns.

“oh, before we leave,” he whips out his gun and fires at barrel in the distance on the other side of the border. It explodes, setting fire to some gasoline spilled on the ground around it. The fire sets off another barrel and all they can see in the distance is just a bunch of things exploding and being set aflame. All Crow could do was stare in shock while Ryan turned away from the destruction with blank eyes and continue to limp away, he was definitely a professional when it came down to it. “there, message sent. let's move.”

Crow slowly nodded as he turned away and followed him, staring at his back in slight awe. He really was glad to be working with someone such as Ryan. Maybe he could learn from him the more he worked with him. As they walked away, the fire burned the town and consumed wherever it went, and if anyone were to stare down at the destruction of the town from up above, they would see the flaming crest of the Phoenix.  
……..

Back at the base, deep inside where a single laboratory was, an anthropomorphic rat in a lab coat was studying the bullet under a microscope. The rat muttered under his breath as he pulled away from the microscope and took notes. “hmm... interesting…”

Ryan paused from tending his wounds, turning in his chair to face the lab doctor. “what's it made of, doc?”

“This bullet is infused with magic. That could explain why it did damage on you,” the rat shuffled along as he tapped the notepad thoughtfully, Crow watching him from the other side of the room. Ever since he found out about the engravings, he kept his distance as much as he could from the bullet, shifting his foot side to side with an uncomfortable look on his face.

“Magic infused bullets?” Ryan looked confused and even suspicious. “How is that even possible?”

“Well, magic is a type of energy, find a material that can conduct said energy, boom, magic fused bullets,” the doctor waved his hands as he turned to Ryan with a thoughtful look. “It can be possible, using gems like quartzes, diamonds, emeralds, so on. but they chose something completely off the charts. highly conductive.”

“Sir…” Crow addresses Ryan gently. He may have kept up his stone faced look but it was obvious by his body language that he severely wanted to leave. “I'm not trying to be rude, but I need to meet back up with Kenny since we are going to be conducting business at the Cathouse soon…”

“So soon? kid, boss wants us to investigate on this,” did he just seriously call him kid? Crow was sure that they were the same age. Ryan might even be younger than him. He almost scoffed, but refrain himself from doing so as Ryan continued to speak. “If they're developing a weapon to wipe us out, we need to be prepared.”

“Boss will be very unhappy if we don’t raise profits,” Crow tried not to talk back but he was getting a little anxious. “Plus, I am Kenny’s body guard. Let’s face it, he needs someone to look after him or he might wander off straight into getting roofied and kidnapped.”

Ryan scoffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance. “The guy is selling magic weed brownies at a night party, he'll be in his element. He’s fine on his own.”

Before Crow could argue further, the lab doctor spoke up as he approached Ryan. “let's not get too cocky. one, you're wounded and need time to heal.”

“I’m fine! tis but a mere flesh wound,” Ryan was obviously being thick headly stubborn as he bandaged his wounded leg with some gauze from the first aid kit lying on the counter.

The lab rat ignored his protest as he continued on. “And two, the peacocks might target the Cathouse to do business as well. if they're really selling this much of their product on our turf to afford this advance weaponry, this could spell trouble for us.”

Ryan paused then sighed gently as he thought about it. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the doctor was right, they could lose one of their most important members AND business if Crow didn’t guard Kenny to make sure the laid back plant monster stayed out of trouble. “Fine. he can go... but just for tonight.”

“Thank you sir,” Crow nodded as he glanced at the bullet one last time then turned away, heading out of lab without another word as doubts and fears plagued his head.

……...

A figure of a tall slim man is leaning over his lab table, doing some sort of experiments by pouring different colored liquids into a vial and swirling it, staring at it with cold blank eyes, carefully. He looked to be some sort of skeleton monster, he wore a lab coat and a pair of square glasses on his slime, narrow face, but his most distinct feature would have to be the holes in his hands. They were cut perfectly round into his hands, creating two identical shaped holes in his them, but that certainly didn’t stop him from working with near perfect precision as he wrote notes down in the black book next to him. 

A shorter figure walked in slowly towards him, stopping a few feet away. They were also wearing a lab coat and clutching a clipboard in front of them, their face hidden in the shadows as their blank eyes studied the skeleton monsters back. “Doctor…” 

The tall skeleton man paused in his writing, only giving a slight tilt of his head softly towards his assistant, encouraging them to speak. “The subjects are r-ready….”

The skeleton gave a sadistic grin and reached over to some vials sitting on his desk, a faint glow of the monster soul samples shone in the dark as he packed them away in his case with some syringes. He rose slowly and heads over to the next room, his assistant following close behind as he walked down a long hall of cells. The skeleton monster paused at the very last cell, peering inside at the “subjects”.

Tiny human children were all curled and accumulated into the corner, scared out of their minds as they stared at the monster fearfully. One human child stood in front of them protectively, he looked older than the rest, most likely a teenager as he stood his ground, glaring at the monster darkly as the cell door slid open. The teenager was obviously trying his best to be brave for the other children, but on the inside, he was utterly terrified as the tall skeleton slowly walked inside the cell towards them, his eyes showing no mercy as he gazed at the pittiful children.

His eyes slowly drifted to the “Brave” teen, his smile growing as he spoke in an incoherent language. All the children could hear was an erie static. The teenager’s heart dropped as he took a step back. He didn’t need to know what the skeleton was saying to know that the sadistic smile curled on his face meant he was chosen for whatever was about to come next. 

The teen yelped as his arm was grabbed in a strong, unbreakable grip and was then dragged away from the other children. But, despite how painful it was as he was dragged away, he still continued to fight, kick, scream at the top of the lungs as he tried to dig his heels into the ground of the white sterile floor. The cell door shut behind him as he was forced alongside the tall skeleton. The other children yelling in horror and scrambling to the cell doors, begging and pleading in vain as the teenager was dragged down the long hall.

The teens soul sank in his chest, but he yelled back to them despite his mounding fear. “I-I'll be ok!! don't give up!!”

He knew without a doubt that he was certainly not going to be ok, but he wanted the other children to have at least some hope to hold onto as he continued to struggle against the monster. “l-let me go!! let go!! H-help!! Someone!! Anyone!!

But no one came….

The strange skeleton was silent as he dragged the teen into some sort of surgery room, walking to the medical bed in the center of it. He roughly lifted the teenager as if he weighed nothing, pinning him down onto the bed and strapping him down onto it as the teen continued to flail around in vain.

Once he was strapped onto the bed, the teens fears worsened, he panted hard in panic as he scanned the room with his eyes. His eyes strayed to the medical tools next to him, seeing scalpels and a bone saw lying on the tray only made him panic more as he struggled against his restraints. The skeleton doctor turned away from him, setting down his case on the table next to the medical bed and taking out the vial and syringes with cold, calculated eyes.

“P-please…” the young teen swallowed, tiring himself out from struggling and instead tries to reason with the doctor as he looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Y-you don’t have to do this… j-just let us go home…”

The skeleton carefully filled the syringe with the white liquid in the vials, the light from the fixture above the bed shining off his glasses in an eerie way as he watched the liquid flow into the glass of the syringe. He then studied it, flicking it gently with his boney fingers to get rid of any air bubbles trapped inside. The strange doctor then turned towards the teen, his eyes showing nothing but coldness in them as he made his way over to the bed. 

The poor teenager started to struggle again, his eyes wide in fear as the doctor took a seat right next to his bed. “N-no, no no no, please you don’t have to do this!! Please!!”

He felt the cold boney fingers grab his face and force it down onto the bed. His eye was forced open, and to his horror the needle of the syringe was hovered above his eye, lining up. Tears started to escape his face as he desperately looked up at the skeleton monster, looking helplessly for any form of mercy in his eyes. 

“P-please… don’t...” 

There was only silence that greeted the boy as the needle inches closer to the poor teen's eye. outside the medical room, the only thing that could be heard was helpless, painful screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note: another chapter done! I'll try to post the next one as soon as possible!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors note: Edited and revised by Brian aka, EeveonArts.

Crow stared off at the floor, the music and lights from the nightclub were almost overwhelming as his mind wandered. He seemed deep in thought to the point his face was wrinkling in stress, he almost failed to notice the snapping green fingers in his face. 

“Yo! Yoooo! Earth to Crow!”

Crow snaps his attention to Kenny sharply and his eyes instantly soften. He blinks rapidly and shakes his head then sighs. “Sorry….”

“yo, french fry, you 'aight? you kinda went tah Mars for a sec,” Kenny looks a little worried then gives a playful suspicious look. “Did ya sneak one of the brownies~?”

“I don’t eat our supplies,” Crow rolled his eyes and shakes his head playfully before slapping Kenny’s hand lightly when he sees him trying to sneak a brownie. “Unlike you~”

“Awww, harsh dude, yer no fun,” he gives a small whine then pouts at Crow. “not even a little bite~?”

Crow’s lip twitch, he doesn’t know if it’s the way Kenny asks him so cutely or the fact that he seems to really be rubbing off on him lately, but he decides to give a little slack. “Fine, how about we make a deal? If there is one left by the end of our sale, I’ll save it for you so you can have it later, ok?”

“Uuuuuugh, fine mom, deal I guess,” Kenny huffed playfully as he continued to offer out brownies to clubbers.

“Stop acting like a child and I won't have to be yer mama,” Crow teases back with a slight smile, he was having fun joking around and working with Kenny but didn’t want to fully admit it. After all, they were supposed to handle their business professionally.

“Nice to know you’re finally opening up~ and wait, is that a smile I see~?” He gasps dramatically as he points at Crow. “Holy shit, you have teeth?!”

Crow rolls his eyes at him, smiling a little more, his fangs peeking out slightly. “Of course I have teeth, do I look like a grandpa to you?”

“Well, yes, you look old,” Crow instantly scowls at him unhappily for saying that. “But that’s not the point French Fry, I just… don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile before.”

Crow blinks at him and thinks about it, when was the last time he genuinely smiled? Not just forced it for show? He couldn’t remember. “I…. I guess I haven’t smiled in a long time.”

“Guess you’re not the old stuffy grunt I thought you were!” Kenny chirps with a big smile on his face as he looked up at him.

“Hey hey, watch it,” Crow huffed back at him then continued to sell the brownies with a slight smile, feeling a little better if anything. 

After a while, as the night went on and the sales were going better than they could have ever expected, Crow saw there was only one brownie left in the box. He quickly takes a napkin and picks it up, wrapping it up safely and showing Kenny. “I’ll save this for you, we made good sales tonight.”

“Sweet!!” Kenny beamed excitedly at him like a little kid as he secures the gold they made. He looked around at all the people dancing, drinking, and just generally having a good time at the club, Crow could practically see the lightbulb of an idea pop over the monsters head. “Before we go, let’s have some fun dude~!”

Crow instantly gets a flash of panic and worry, after all, Kenny had not yet been informed about the monster killing bullets, and who knows when they will get attacked next? “We should go, we sold all the goods, and I should get you back home so you can enjoy yer brownie.”

“Quit being a killjoy, the night is still young!” Kenny gives a big smile at him as he grabs Crow’s shoulders. “Come on~ Can’t we just party a little~?” 

Crow still looked unsure but the more he thought about it, the more relaxed he got. Yes, they could absolutely get attacked at any moment, but he was here, he could easily put himself between Kenny and any danger that came at them. Plus, if it was only for a little while, and he kept his eye on him, then why not? He made up his mind. “Fine, only for a little bit, and then we go, got it?”

“FUCK YEAH!!!” Kenny fist pumps then grabs Crow’s arm and practically drags him. “Lets get some glow sticks and party~!!”

Crow instantly gets a flash of regret as he gets pulled along. Oh boy, here we go..

…………

Crow looked everything but amused as Kenny practically covers him in glow wear. He had wrist bands made of glow sticks on both arms and a necklace of glow sticks as well, he was holding a handful in his hand as Kenny secured the necklace on him. “Isn’t this a little too much?”

“Frankly, it’s not enough, we need more!” the plant monster stepped back to admire his handy work then snaps his fingers. “A glow headband would be cool!”

“Nah nah, nope, yer not putting that on me,” Crow was already a little embarrassed by all the glow wear he had on, adding more would _Definitely_ be too much for him. He grabs a headband and puts it on Kenny’s head. “There, see? It looks better on you.” 

“Bitch, I look good in everything!” He puffs out his chest proudly then turns to the glow wear, continuing to put on just about everything they had while Crow glanced around in embarrassment. Once he was finished, Crow nearly choked from laughter as Kenny turned around and raised his arms proudly to present himself. He was **covered** in glow wear, he almost looked like a walking ball of multi-colored light with how much he had on. Crow thought his own was too much, but nothing compared to how much Kenny had on. 

“Glow man!!” Kenny posed dramatically while Crow tried his damn hardest not to laugh. He straightens out then grins as he drags Crow by the arm to the dance floor. “Come on dude, let’s dance~!!”

“Alright alright!” Crow only protests a little as he’s dragged along. He perks when he hears yelling from the stage and looks up, seeing Cat pointing at them as he pauses his dance routine he’s doing on stage.

“You two look like dorks!!” really? He had to draw more attention to them?

“Thank you~!” Kenny waves excitedly back at him making Cat grumble unhappily and going back to his dance routine. Crow rolls his eyes with a relieved sigh then grunts when he’s pulled onto the dance floor.

“Come on old frenchy, stop looking so stressed and let loose~!” Kenny started to dance like an absolute dork, his goofy grin stuck on his face as he dances, he didn’t have a care in the world, he was just here to have fun. Crow could admire that about him, while he was constantly worried about his image, Kenny could give less of a shit as long as he was happy. 

“I’m only 24, stop calling me old ya little shit,” Crow huffed at him playfully then mused to himself, deciding that just this once, he’ll follow Kenny’s advice. After all, they were safe, right? Plus he didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb because he refused to dance. He gave Kenny a small smile and shrugged off his jacket. Just this once..

They continued to dance, and even though Kenny was terrible at it, and Crow was a little stiff with his dancing because he **could not** relax for the life of him, they still had a lot of fun together. After a while Crow suddenly stopped and panted hard, holding onto Kenny’s shoulder as he keeled over slightly like an old man and wheezed hard. “Ok ok, maybe I am, just a little, old…”

“Hah~! Told ya~” Kenny snickered at him then points to the bar. “Let’s go grab a drink~”

“Fine, but only one because I’m driving us home,” Crow waves his hand as they head to the bar, not noticing that they were being watched silently from afar. He took a seat with a heavy sigh, chuckling as Kenny practically clambered into the seat next to him because all the glow wear he was wearing. “Whiskey please, thank you.”

“Candy shots for me!” Kenny waves his hand happily with a grin. The bartender smiled at them and nodded, turning away to make their drinks. She was a humanoid moth monster, a whimsun, or at least in the same spectrum Crow concluded as he studied her. Her wings fluttered just slightly as she made their drinks, showing off their translucence in the bar light. Crow admired her wings softly, they were quite beautiful, looking delicate and frail, but he knew better than to reach out and see if they truly were. He suddenly felt Kenny nudge him, making Crow glance at him. Kenny leaned in close and whispered, “she’s kinda hot, think I could get her number~?”

Crow wanted to say “doubtful” but instead rolled his eyes. After all, bartenders are hard to win over, he remembered the last time he tried to drunk flirt with a handsome flame bartender and got burned, literally and figuratively, but he instead he just waved his hand with a chuckle. Crow should be stopping him from embarrassing himself, but he kinda wanted to see what would happen. “Eh~ give it a shot, but I’m warning ya, bartenders are hard to swoon.”

“Is that a challenge~?” Kenny smirked at him competitively. Oh, it was on.

“Yeah,” Crow smirked back at him. “Go on, give ‘er your best shot~”

The moth monster turned back to them with their drinks in her hands, setting them down with a big smile on her face as she cheerfully said, “bottoms up boys!”

Kenny took his drink and leaned against the counter, Crow had to struggle not to laugh as the plant monster tried his best to look seductive as he smiled coolly at the bartender. “Hey~ did it hurt when you fell from heaven~?” 

“No, but I scraped my knee crawling out of hell,” she bluntly shot back which caught Kenny completely off guard. He blinked in shock before looking at her with confused eyes. “Wait what?”

The moth monster just smiled, leaned over the counter towards him… and let out an unholy screeching right into his face. Kenny nearly jumped out of his seat, leaning as far back as he could with wide eyes as he stared at her in shock. “Neeeeeevermind!”

“Pffft-” Crow couldn’t take it anymore, he busted out laughing as the bartender straightens and goes to attend other patrons. He snorts unattractively behind his hand as he tries to control his laughter but can’t, resorting to just laughing into his arms on the counter. “Hahahahah~!!!” 

“S-shut up!” Kenny grunts unhappily at him then takes his shot and downs it angrily as Crow tries in vain to stop laughing. 

“I told ya~” he chuckles as he finally calms down, patting Kenny’s back softly as the plant monster ordered another shot. “You’ll get ‘em next time~”

Kenny only grumbled as he downed his second shot, he was acting like an upset kid who didn’t get the toy they wanted and had to suck it up. Crow could only huff as Kenny proceeded to take shot after shot, get tispier that he would’ve wanted. Crow sighed slightly as he watched the man wobble slightly and pout into his drink, he really did have to act as the babysitter. “Alright, I think it’s time to head out.”

“Nooooo,” Kenny protested as he clutched his drink and whined, it only made Crow chuckle as he stood up, knowing just how to bribe the drunk monster to come with him without throwing a fuss. He takes out the brownie he saved from earlier and showed it to Kenny with a knowing look. “Hey, remember this~? We had a deal right~? I saved ya a brownie like you wanted. Don’t you wanna get home and eat it~?”

Kenny perked as he stared at the brownie, practically beaming as he nodded excitedly. Got him. “Duuuuude, you’re such a brooooo~” 

“I know, I know, I’m pretty awesome,” Crow sarcastically replied as he put the brownie away again, lending out his arm as Kenny got out of his chair wobbling. “Come on, let’s get ya home.” 

Kenny nodded as he leaned against the hybrid slightly for support, wobbling a little as they walked together through the crowded area. Did it get more crowded without him noticing? Crow tensed slightly as he pushed past the dancing and grinding bodies, gripping Kenny’s arm so he doesn’t lose him in the crowd. Shit. maybe this was a bad idea… 

“Hey there~” a voice suddenly spoke up from behind them, Crow didn’t have time to react before he felt Kenny yanked away from him. He turned around swiftly in shock. The last thing he sees is a woman with long black hair and tight fitting clothes wrap her arms around Kenny’s shoulder before he’s pushed further into the crowd. He grunts with wide eyes, fuck he couldn’t lose him! He instantly pushes back, not caring that the people around him were upset by his forceful shoving. He needed to protect his boss, he needed to-! He sees them.

The woman leans in to try and kiss Kenny, but even in his drunken haze he could tell he wasn’t safe as he leans back as far as he could. His head swiveled as he tried to look for Crow. “L-Look, I don’t think-”

“No need to be so shy, it’s just you and me handsome~” the woman purred as she slides her fingers along his chin and turns his head back towards her, leaning in dangerously close to Kenny’s lips- 

Crow slams his hand against the woman’s face, not enough to hurt her, but definitely enough to push her off as he grabs the plant monsters arm with his other hand. “He’s not interested, take a hint.”

He quickly steered them away before the woman could comprehend what was going on, briskly walking as he practically drags Kenny with him out the doors. Once they breach outside, the cold night breeze greeting them and cooling off Crow’s sweaty forehead, he finally breathed a sigh of relief as he loosens his grip on Kenny. “I’m sorry sir…” 

“Bah~ it’s fine French Fry~” he waves his hand as Crow leads him to the car, he also looked relieved as he tilted his head tipsly. “I think you just saved me from getting roofied, heh~”

“Yeah, that was too close…” He shook his head as he helped Kenny into the passenger side, carefully buckling his seat belt before he closed the door swiftly. Crow wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, yes, but he was still going to make sure Kenny was safe. Once he finished, he walked around the car, looking around with sharp eyes before opening the drivers side door and climbing in, wasting no time in starting up the car and swiftly pulling away from the club. Kenny yawned tiredly and snuggled into his seat. He sure was relaxed for someone who was close to getting drugged. 

Crow’s lip twitched as he slowly calmed down from his adrenaline rush, taking off some of the glow wear around his neck as he drives. Next time he was going to keep a better eye out, he was still Kenny’s bodyguard, he shouldn’t have been so loose. After a short drive, Crow gently parked the car in the parking lot behind Kenny’s apartment building. He gently turned the car off and sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly then looks at Kenny with a weak smile as the plant monster struggles to sit up. 

“Heh, here we are..” Crow took out the brownie from his coat and gently holds it out towards him. “Here, enjoy~”

“Heh~!” Kenny’s eyes light up as he quickly straightens and takes the brownie. “Thanks dude~ hey, you wanna split it?”

Crow gets taken aback, staring in shock then smiles confusedly, thinking this was a joke but as he looks further into Kenny’s excited eyes, he realizes the monster was completely serious. “I uh… I really shouldn’t, I need to walk home plus I get… really weird when high…” 

He rubbed his neck with a wince, he didn’t want to show that side to Kenny, it was already embarrassing enough that he turns into an oversharing truth machine when he’s drunk or high, it would be even worse if his own BOSS saw him like that. But Kenny was having none of it, he was already splitting the brownie as Crow protested. “Aw come on bruh, I insist! Let’s split it~!”

Crow tried again to protest, but after looking into those pleading eyes, he caved quickly, sighing and taking the other half begrudgingly with an unhappy noise. “Alright…” 

“That’s the spirit~!” Kenny quickly ate his brownie and chewed it, enjoying the treat while Crow swallowed his as quickly as he could, wanting this to be over as soon as possible. “And now, we wait~” 

Crow leaned back in his seat and sighs, stretching and settling down as he gazes out the window. As he admired the starry night sky, he started to get cocky, scoffing quietly as he waited patiently for the brownies effects to kick in. 

‘I bet these edibles aren’t shit~ I can handle it~’ is what he cockily thought as he smirked to himself. 

………..

...How did he end up sideways?... wait, was he sideways or was the world sideways?... what was he lying on?.. 

Crow blinked slowly once, then twice, before realizing he was still in the car, the world wasn’t sideways, and he was, in fact, laying his head on Kenny’s lap… ohhh right, he laid down because he suddenly didn’t feel good… this was a nice place to lay down, it was pretty comfy actually.

Kenny giggled as he poked Crow’s stomach, anyone looking from the outside could tell without a doubt that these two were high as balls, but the two men either couldn’t tell or didn’t care at the moment as they both tried to make sense of what they were experiencing. “Bro, you look siiiiick, you gonna be ok man~?”

“Bleh!” Crow grunted before poking Kenny’s stomach with an upset look, not caring one bit about how childish he was acting as he poked back with a huff. “Don’t poke mah belly!”

Kenny only giggled then paused and tilted his head, you could almost see the gears turning slowly in his head before he finally spoke up. “Bruh like, you like, only have gray on one side of your head..”

Crow paused, his brain slowly registering what was said before he pinched his gray hair between his fingers and feels it thoughtfully. “Oh my god…. You’re right…”

“Why is that? Like, why isn’t it on the whole side of yer head? Ya got a condition?” Kenny lightly poked Crow’s head making him whine.

“Naaaaaaaah,” Crow slurred his words as he gazes blurred up at him. “I like…. Absorbed my twin in the womb, I’m like, half a person…”

“Oooohhh…. I don’t get it,” the plant monster leaned back and tries to think it over. Well, as well as a high person could think anything over.

“Neither do I…” Crow waves his hands around then starts feeling the inside of his mouth with his tongue, had it always felt this numb? He curled up on Kenny’s lap and started feeling his mouth with his thumb, not realizing how utterly embarrassing he was acting as he felt over his fangs then tongue. Kenny started to giggle and chuckle making Crow glare up at him with the thumb still in his mouth. “Wha’s so ‘unny?..”

“Dude you look weird laying on my lap… like a baby..” Kenny continued to giggle and snicker, how dare he?!

Crow took his thumb out of his mouth and huffs unhappily up at him as he tries his best to glare but fails miserably to look scary as Kenny continued to laugh at him. “I ain’t no baby, I’m a man… a whole ass man…”

“Whaaaaaatever you say dude~” he only continued to chuckle as the hybrid pouted up at him like a child. 

“I am a man though!”

Kenny continued to chuckle as he patted the man's head lightly. “You’re silly~”

“And yer… adorable… stop it…” Crow gruffs at him with a serious look, which looked more ridiculous than serious. 

“What do you mean??” Kenny just looks confused, unlike the hybrid who was a lightweight, he had at least some restraint… ok, a lot more resistance than Crow. 

“.....fuck, I already forgot,” Crow only groaned back unhappily as he covered his eyes, had this been what he meant when he said he gets weird when high? It must be, he had a bit of amnesia as well it seemed.

“Um dude, I think you should go to bed,” Kenny looked worriedly down at him, sober enough to realize that maybe this was a little bit of a bad idea, Crow looked sick and vulnerable like this.

“Nahhh…. Ah shit…. I gotta walk home…” the man slowly started to sit up and then fell back down onto Kenny’s lap. “O-ow, sorry, just, everything is spinning.”

The plant monster grunted in pain and winced, hunched over slightly in pain, it seemed Crow accidentally elbowed his crotch. “D-Dude! You kinda struck me… ow..”

“Ah fuck! I’m so sorry-!” Crow scrambled up to apologize but hit his head against the roof of the car, wincing in pain and holding his head. “O-ow… h-heh, I guess Karma got me back huh~?”

“Pffft~” he snorted and smiled up at him weakly, it made Crow freeze and his face heat up in a slight blush at how warm Kenny’s smile made him feel. “It’s all cool dude~”

Crow could only blink for a moment as his mind processes everything then it finally clicks and he coughs with a small blush across his face. “W-well, awesome… I should probably get home, thanks fer tonight Kenny~” 

He smiled like a dork as he exited the car, standing up and attempting to walk but instantly face plants into the ground with a pained groan. Kenny immediately bursts out laughing, clutching his sides and snickering before stopping completely when Crow lifts his head to reveal a bloody nose. “Oh shit, are you ok?”

Crow let’s out a groan as he painfully gets up, then stumbles a little as he dabs his nose with his tie. “Yeah! Yeah, I’m ok…. Shit..” 

Kenny watches as the poor man tries to keep himself balanced, then he sighs and gently climbs out of the car, deciding to give him a break. “Wanna come inside dude?”

The hybrid pauses and looks at him in surprise then shakes his head, which unfortunately only makes him dizzier, if that was even possible at this point. “No no, I can’t do that to you, it’s rude…”

Despite his protests, the plant monster only chuckled as he walked over and linked arms with the uptight bodyguard. “You ain’t good to walk home, stop worrying about what’s rude or not.”

Crow sighed unhappily, he truly didn’t want to do this, he was supposed to be guarding _Him_ after all. But after thinking carefully about it, he gave in to Kenny’s insistent tugs on his arm. What could he do? He was high out of his mind and could barely walk, he probably wouldn’t even make it half way to his apartment without falling again. “Alright, ok… but only for a little bit, and then I’ll leave..”

“Uh huh~” Kenny smiled, unconvinced as he lead the grumpy man to his apartment, helping him up the stairs as they head inside. Crow could barely focus as he stared at the ground, walking side by side with Kenny but feeling like each step wasn’t even on solid ground. The patterns on the carpet were taunting him, slowly moving and changing as he stepped on it, how dare they shift when he was trying his damndest to walk?! When they finally got to the apartment door, Crow felt like he was going to throw up, he needed to lay down _now_ or his dinner was going to come climbing back up. He leaned against Kenny as he was guided to the couch. Thank god! Crow almost barely heard the plant monster as he promptly was plopped onto the couch in a laying position. 

“Rest up dude… you need to sleep off the brownie..” Kenny sounded muffled to Crow, he barely registered that he was even lying down in the first place as he felt his legs being shifted onto the couch so they weren’t hanging off. 

“I… ok… but only fer… a little bit…” he mumbled almost drunkenly as he gently swung his arm over his eyes to help block out the light so he could sleep. Crow sleepily mumbled as he slowly drifted off the sleep, deciding to put in one last note before his dreams consumed him. “No more… edibles.. Ever.. again… zzz….” 

“Sounds good buddy~” Kenny only smiled and chuckled as he watched the hybrid promptly start to snore, shaking his head lightly. Some bodyguard he was. He yawned himself, today had been a long day and they had sold their whole stock, he was more than happy to start heading to bed.. That was, until something caught his eye. Kenny squinted curiously as Crow rolled over, gently coming closer to inspect the back of his neck. 

Peeking out from the collar of Crow’s dress shirt was a tattoo, but not just any tattoo. It was numbers and letters, spelling out WDG-005JA, around the tattoo there also seemed to be some painful scarring, as if someone had been digging their nails into his skin. Kenny had a strange feeling as if he had seen it before, but he wasn’t sure from where. He gently took out his phone and turned off the flash, taking a picture of the tattoo then softly turning away and walking towards his room as he studied the picture. Where had he seen those letters before?...

Just as he was contemplating this, a notification popped up on his phone. It was a mass text, sent by the lab scientist warning every and all monsters in the mob about the new bullet they have discovered today. Kenny tilted his head as he read through the text, walking into his room as his eyes scanned each word. The notification goes onto to say that these bullets had been sold to the Peacock members to kill monsters, it even had a picture attachment to the message so that members could be on the look out for the bullet. Kenny thought nothing of it, of course he was concerned, who wouldn’t be? But he was sure that he could handle it, he has the best bodyguard to protect him after all. That is, until his eyes fell onto the picture attachment that came with the message. His soul sank in his chest when he saw the engravings on the bullet displayed perfectly in the picture. WDG. N-no, could he be?... no! that couldn’t be right… Crow would never!

the message finishes off at the end by saying that the bullet was discovered only because a traitor had attempted to kill one of their members. If anyone had a suspicion or solid evidence of a traitor among them to report it right away or to not hesitate to capture or kill the traitor as defense. Kenny read the message over and over again before he slowly lowered his phone, trying to convince himself that there was no connection, maybe it was just a coincidence. But even the message warned that this bullet can kill even the strongest of monsters and to report any suspicious or traitorous activity, could he really let his suspicion slide? The young man slowly peeked his head back out, looking gently into the living room where Crow was sleeping on the couch.

The older man was still asleep, hugging a pillow and snuggling into as he snored like a bear in hibernation, blissfully unaware of the world as his usually slicked back hair fell into his face like salt and pepper strands. Kenny slowly shook his head to himself as he relaxed. What was he thinking? Of course Crow would never hurt him! They were friends… right? That thought quickly disappeared as he drew his attention back to Crow, noticing he was no longer snoring.

At first it was quiet… and then Crow jerked awake, whipping out a gun from his holster with wild eyes as he sprung from the couch, staring up as if aiming at an invisible opponent, his eyes wild and unseeing. He must have been still half asleep, he hadn’t even noticed or glanced at the plant monster yet. Kenny grew pale as he slowly eased back into his room, closing the door quietly and locking it as his heart raced. Holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck… he was absolutely terrified of this man.

When he realizes he’s safe, Crow slowly lowers the gun and puts it back in it’s hostler. He yawns wide as he pushes his hair back, glancing at the time on his watch. “Fuck.. it’s midnight.. I gotta get home..”

He gets up, stretching wide with a low groan then notices Kenny's door is closed. Crow thinks about it for a moment and then shrugs it off, thinking that Kenny most likely went to bed right away. After pondering for a moment, he decides to leave a note thanking him for the night, it was only the polite thing to do. The older man grabs a sticky note and a pen, jotting down a quick note before slapping it on the fridge as he grabs his coat. The hybrid winces as he walks towards the door, his head spins as he gently pushes the door open softly. “fuck I think I'm still a little high.... ah whatever, as long as I can walk, I can get home…”

Meanwhile, Kenny cowered in his room with his ear pressed against the door, shaking slightly as he listened to Crow leaving the apartment. He gulps shakily and slowly slides down to the floor, sighing in relief when he hears the door slam close, indicating that the hybrid left. Holy crap.. He was scary…

……………..

Crow stood before his boss with a usual blank stare on his face, he heard them tapping their fingers gently on the wooden desk as he waited patiently for them to speak. The three headed bodyguard leaned over, listening to the Phoenix boss whisper to him then gently turns his attention to Crow. “so how did the sale go last night, Mister Noir?..”

The lone crow tilted his head politely as he addresses them in a blank tone. “We sold out all of the brownies last night, it was a success… we made 5 thousand gold…”

The rhythmic tapping on the desk paused, there was a silence that blanketed over the room. At first, Crow tensed, thinking that it was a bad sign. did they not make enough? He only relaxed after he saw the quiet boss lean slightly over to their body guard and whisper again, the monster nodding and speaking up deeply. “ good job, newbie. Kenny will take care of providing that lovely old couple with their cut. were there any casualties last night?”

“None sir, everything was secured and accounted for, I made sure of that.”

Crow heard more whispering, it was getting a little tiresome, why the boss couldn’t just turn around and speak to him was beyond him. But he kept his mouth politely shut, not daring to speak up about it as the guard spoke again. “good job. today your shifts will be changed. you'll now be doing a night shift with Ryan to hunt down any remaining spies in our flock. In the meantime, you will be accompanying Kenny to pick up the couple's "Ingredients" this morning.”

Crow nodded politely to them both as he kept his gaze leveled. “Understood sir, I will keep him safe…” 

More quiet whispering. “Good. let Kenny deal with the payments and pay cuts. Just make sure nothing else goes arie.” 

“Yes sir, understood sir, I’ll go meet up with him right away…”

“Don’t do anything stupid you two..”

Crow only bowed his head quietly in respect before turning and heading out, securing the gold in a briefcase as he walks smoothly down the hall, intending to meet up with Kenny at the cafe they agreed upon. Today was going to be a long day, he could already feel it..

……………

Kenny sighed as he weakly looked at the cafe menu, he was currently ordering coffee really quick before Crow arrived, he looked like he really needed it. He hadn’t slept well last night, and even as he was ordering, he was going slow with an exhausted look on his face, as if his brain was barely catching up with his mouth. “Yeah and uh… uhh… a donut too please.. Thanks..”

Crow gently entered the small shop, perking in surprise as his eyes landed on Kenny. He thumbed his necklace through his shirt as he quickly walked over, slight concern creeping up on him as he saw how tired and worn out Kenny looked upon closer inspection. “Hey, did you sleep last night? You look terrible.”

Crow had almost barely got through his sentence as Kenny had a delayed reaction to him coming up out of nowhere. The plant monster jumped roughly with a small yelp then wheezes as he clutches his chest with wide eyes and turns to him. “Jesus french fry, ya trying to give me a soul attack?!”

“Woah!” The hybrid raised his hands in surprise, he had only been with Kenny for a short time, but the sudden snappiness caught him off guard, he didn’t expect such a thing from the usual laid back monster. “Jesus, sorry… are you ok?”

“um, yeah yeah,” Kenny scratches his neck as he tries to think up an excuse on the spot before smiling weakly at Crow. “I uh.. I think the brownies and the lack of sleep because partying is catching up to me. s-sorry if i'm a bit, um.... Jumpy.”

“Aw man..” Crow instantly feels guilty as he rubs the back of his neck, had he really kept Kenny up that late? His memories from last night were really foggy, He really should’ve stayed firm and brought him home right away. “I’m so sorry, next time I’ll bring you home right away, that was my fault..”

“Quit blaming yourself for everything, it’s getting lame,” The plant monster huffed and rolled his eyes unhappily, crossing his arms a little, he was definitely the type that hated when people took the blame for something that wasn’t their fault. Kenny perked when his name is called and he quickly grabs his coffee from the counter eagerly, taking a big whiff and sighing happily as he feels his problems practically melt away. He slowly drinks his brew, savoring the taste then suddenly becomes aware of Crow staring at him making his soul squirm uncomfortably all over again.

“Hm… I think I might get some coffee too,” the hybrid let out a thoughtful hum as he turns his gaze to the menu, putting his hands on his hips as he scans the board. Kenny just silently nodded as his gaze drifted to the back of Crow’s neck, the letters and numbers of his tattoo peeking out just barely over his shirt collar. Looking at that tattoo was… unnerving to him… last nights incidents started to pop back up in his mind as he shakily sips his coffee. Crow couldn’t possibly… could he?..

“Hmm… an ice mocha coffee please, thank will be all, thank ya,” Crow final orders and pays for his drink, chatting with the cashier for a bit as Kenny gets lost in his conflicting thoughts. He then finally notices how quiet the monster is being and turns, blinking in surprise when he saw the look on Kenny's face. He waves his hand in front of his face with a raised eyebrow, snapping the plant monster out of his thoughts. “You ok there?....”

“Oh! I.. um…” Kenny slowly looked at him and grimaces slightly, Crow’s genuine concern towards him was only making Kenny more suspicious. After all, if one of their members got so easily seduced and fooled by a traitor, who was to say that his “friend” wasn't one either? He slowly sipped his coffee and glanced away. “It’s nothing..” 

Crow blinks then narrows his eyes, unconvinced and a little suspicious himself, what was with Kenny’s odd behavior today? He decided to let it go for now when he hears his name called, grabbing his coffee off the counter and leaving a tip before tilting his head softly as he walks out of the shop. “Come on..” 

Kenny swallows shakily but doesn’t dare argue against him as he quickly follows the stoned faced bodyguard silently. Crow gently sips his coffee with a serious look as he heads out the door, holding it open for Kenny before walking side by side with him towards the car. “Boss said to let you handle the money cut so I'll give this to you..”

He gently hands Kenny the briefcase full of the G they earned from last night, waiting until the monster grabs it before speaking up again. “Boss also said we are supposed to gather "ingedients" for the couple this morning, so I'll drive us there.”

Kenny instantly gets a stab of panic as he clutches the briefcase tightly. If Crow was a traitor, he **could not** allow him to know where their farm is, it would be disastrous! He had to come up with something fast, an excuse, anything! He chokes a little as he quickly stutters up an excuse. “N-no it’s ok, I’m fine to drive! You don’t have to come with me! E-ehe.”

Crow pauses and instantly narrows his eyes at the smaller monster. Something wasn’t right, he could feel it, Kenny had been acting strange all day and it was really playing on his nerves. He gets close to Kenny, staring him down with a cold and blank expression as he studied his face, which only made the monster more nervous. “...are you ok?”

“P-ppffft,” Kenny laughs nervously as he avoids eye contact with the hybrids piercing heterochromic eyes. “Psssh, heh! ‘Am I ok?’- hah! E-everything’s fine dude! I j-just thought I should drive is all~”

This doesn’t help his case one bit, in fact, the bodyguard only seemed to glare harder down at him as his eyes seemed to pierce through Kenny’s very soul. There was a long pause between them, and for Kenny, it felt like hours before Crow finally sighed and leaned back. “.....alright, as long as everything is fine..”

Kenny sighed in relief, thinking he had managed to convince him but perks in shock when he sees his keys around on Crow’s finger, hanging gently by the key ring as they jingled softly in the mans hand. The hybrid stared down at him as he huffed with cold eyes. “But I’m still driving, you’re extremely tired and out of it today, I don’t want us getting into a crash because _you_ fall asleep behind the wheel.”

“I’m fine!” Kenny gruffed unhappily and tried to reach for his keys but the slightly taller of the two only held it higher out of his reach. “And how did you even get my keys?!”

“It’s one of my many skills~” Crow gave a hint of a smirk but his eyes grew serious as he held the keys above his head, making the monster growl in frustration as he desperately tried to reach for them, curse his small height! It wasn’t that he was that short,he definitely was only a few inches shorter than the hybrid, but it made a frustrating difference. Crow sipped his coffee as he stared down at the monster reaching up for the keys to no avail. “Kenny, seriously, I’m driving, end of discussion.”

“Uggggh!!.... Fine..” Kenny sighed angrily and stopped, huffing unhappily as he glances away. He was going to have to think of something else, maybe mislead Crow with fake directions.. It could work if he was careful enough.

“Glad we had this talk,” Crow finally relaxed then unlocked the car, holding open the passenger door for Kenny. “After you..”

Kenny only sighed and reluctantly climbed into the car, clutching his coffee close and sipping it as the door was gently closed. He glanced over as Crow got in the drivers seat and buckled up, starting up the car and adjusting everything. Kenny had to be calm about this, he already gave himself away too much already.

“Alright,” Crow finally glances over at him as he puts his hands on the wheel. “Where to?..”

“U-um,” Kenny took a deep breath and shifted in his seat as he clutched his coffee. “Just keep going forward aaaaand take a left.”

“Gotcha,” Crow nodded softly before driving off, going forward and stopping at the stop sign before taking a left. “Alright, and then?”

“And then uh, you take another left.”

“Alright,” he turned left again smoothly, thinking nothing of it. 

“And then you… t-take another left.”

“......” Crow narrows his eyes and takes another left.

“Aaaaand take another left.”

He takes one final left. They ended up right back at the coffee shop. Crow took a big, _long_ , deep breath, then parked the car. He puts his hands together, trying his damn best to be patient and understanding, but that just grated on his nerves in a very unpleasant way. “Kenny… is there something you want to tell me? Because we just went in a square.”

Kenny gulps nervously and tries to play it off. “U-um, noooooo, maybe you took a wrong turn?”

“........” Crow unbuckled his seat belt, giving Kenny brief hope for a moment that the man finally broke and would let him drive. But then his hope immediately died in his chest when Crow turns towards Kenny with a serious dark look, he looks intimidating and almost terrifying. Just when the plant monster was opening his mouth to make up some other bullshit excuse, Crow puts his hand on the car window, trapping Kenny as he stares down at him, making his feeble words die instantly in his throat. “....I’ll ask again… is there something I should know about?....”

He shrinks against the car door, looking up at Crow, wide eyed and scared shitless. Kenny’s mind was completely racing in panic. shit, he's catching on, Does he know that Kenny knows he’s a traitor? Was he going to kill him?! Is this where he dies?! He stares Crow in the eyes and something he didn't expect to say escaped his mouth. Kenny didn't mean to say it, but it just slipped out. It was too late to stop himself, he wasn't even thinking. “...is there something **I** should know, Crow?”

The hybrid looks surprised, taken aback and blinking slowly before staring down at Kenny. “....excuse me?” 

what the fuck?! okay okay, Kenny could roll with this as long as he was chill about it. Maybe getting all buddy buddy with Crow will finally bring out some answers. “well, we're buds, right? y-you wouldn't hide anything from your friend, would you?”

“I.. um... “ Crow looked unsure before slowly lowering his hand, good, Kenny was breaking him down. “Of course I wouldn’t hide anything from ya… what is this about?”

“You tell me,” this time he was more firm as he sat up, gaining more confidence as he kept eye contact with Crow. that’s right, Kenny was the boss, his bodyguard couldn’t hurt him, he wouldn’t dare. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Crow’s usual stone cold face started to twitch a bit, he kept eye contact with the short monster but Kenny could tell he wanted badly to look away. He was getting nervous because of Kenny. good. 

“I think you do…” he was lying straight out of his ass, he really had no fucking clue! But despite all of that, Kenny keeps on a cold poker face, the kind you would see on a boss. To Crow, it was almost strange seeing it on him, but he unexpectedly pulls it off quite well. like he's done this before and has had years of practice. Maybe he has. 

There was dead silence that filled the car as both of the men kept staring at each other, as if daring the other to break. Sweat had started to form on Kenny’s brow, but despite that his face never changed as he kept his gaze firm. Crow stared down with a cold look, his face set in stone.. Until finally, he ended their silent staring contest by glancing away, sighing with a nervous look. He broke. “......look, I'm sorry if I've been stepping over the line in any sort of way.... but I don't have a crush on ya if that's what yer thinking, I know yer straight.”

“W-wait, what?” Kenny sputters for a moment, feeling like he almost got whiplash from that statement. It was definitely not what he was expecting to hear. “that's not what this is about-.. Wait a minute, you had a crush on me?!”

“No!!” Crow said this a little too loudly as he waves his hands with wide eyes, blushing in utter embarrassment as he looked away in pure shame from his outburst. “E-ehem, no, I don’t.”

Kenny just sighed and face palmed, his thoughts confirmed all along. Crow was definitely not a traitor. “dude, it's fucking obvious. i'm not as dumb as most think. I already knew about that.”

“Wait WHAT?!” Crow stared at him with wide eyes then narrows his eyes unhappily, as if he had just been part of some sick prank. “Then what the hell was all that weird behavior?!”

The plant monster slowly sighed before giving his signature free spirited smile. “A test~ which you failed~” 

“I failed?!” Crow sat back in the drivers seat as he huffed and gruffed, his version of pouting as he crosses his arms. “What kind of a test was that?! And how did I fail? I demand a redo!”

Kenny chuckles a little as he sat up, getting comfortable in his seat again. Yeah, Crow was definitely not a traitor, just a grumpy dork. “Chill out dude, it’s not a big deal~”

“It is to me!” the hybrid shot back at him as he roughly buckles up, being the perfectionist that he was, he didn’t like failing, especially on tests he didn’t even know he was taking. “Jesus, I’m so mad, that was embarrassing as shit. I didn’t expect ya to just pull that outta nowhere.”

“Dude, I may not be THE boss, but i'm still **A** boss. sorta like a manager. I manage the products~” Kenny slouched in his seat, relaxed and content as the tension in the car slowly lifted. “Now off to business~!”

Crow rolled his eyes and starts up the car again, but now that the tension was gone, he relaxed again, all his suspicion slipping away as he leaned back into his seat. “Are you gonna give me actual directions this time?”

“Of course, of course~ we are turning around and making a right~”

“Gotcha boss man,” he does a playful salute at him before driving off, doing a quick U-turn then taking an immediate right. Kenny finished off the rest of his coffee with a small smile as he now enjoyed the ride. “Heh, sorry for giving ya a scare, dude.”

“No worries, forget about it,” Crow waves his hand dismissively as he focuses on the road, giving a tiny smile as he drove. “I’ll be honest though, I never imagined ya to have such an intense look, but ya pulled it off.”

“I've been practicing~” no he hadn’t, but now Kenny felt a sense of pride knowing how badass he can make himself look. “By the way, you suck at hiding your feelings. last night was blatantly obvious you liked me. why else would you, a serious professional, suddenly become very friendly and open out of nowhere? not to mention when you were on the brownie, you kept calling me "cute" for some reason.”

Crow froze up while Kenny only smirked at him a little, knowing he was embarrassing the shit of the poor man. “I mean, I appreciate the compliment~”

“Oh no, no no no,” he groans in dismay as his face turned red, Kenny almost choked from laughter at how quickly the blank face guard turned into a flustered tomato color. “I told you I get weird when high! It's like a truth serum for me! I-I…. didn't... Say anything else… did I?...”

He suddenly gets nervous and glances at Kenny as he gulps a little, waiting for his answer. The plant monster pretended to ponder for a moment then smiles at him as if suddenly remembering. “Well, you did ask for a kiss~”

“.....I wanna die, just shoot me now.”

Kenny laughed and snorted, having too much fun with this as he chuckles uncontrollably at Crow’s embarrassed face. “dude~! i'm messin' with ya~! you didn't actually say anything like that~! Oh my god, you should see your face~!”

Crow just gave him a disgruntled look as he continued to die laughing in his seat, clutching his sides as they begin to hurt. “You ass! Not funny!”

Kenny only giggled before finally calming down, panting and grinning at Crow. “oh come on~ it was a little funny~”

“.....maybe a little.”

“Heh~!” Kenny shoved his shoulder teasingly before finally settling down and turning on the radio. A familiar song to him came streaming out of the speakers, making his gasp excitedly as he listened to the notes. “Oh~! This is a good song~!”

Crow raises a brow in surprise as he listens to the song. It was unlike the usual junky music Kenny listened to, it was actually nice to listen to something else for once. “It’s pretty catchy…”

“yeah~ ain't it cool~? an old high school band of mine used to pay it all the time~ it's still really cool to listen to!”

“You were in a band?” why was Crow not surprised? He could practically see it written all over Kenny that he used to be in, at the very least, a rock band.

“heh~! yeah~! chicks dig band members~ especially lead guitarists~” Kenny rubs his nails against his shirt and checks them out, as if trying to act all cool. “Not to toot my own horn here~”

“Oh my god, don’t get a big head now,” Crow almost rolled his eyes into the back of his head at how dorky Kenny just acted, but he couldn’t help but smile. He slowly stopped at a red light and waited patiently as he shifted in his seat. “So, what happened to the band? Did you all go your separate ways or something?”

“well yeah. high school ended, everyone else was chasing their dreams of going to their ideal colleges... even if it meant leaving me behind…” Kenny sighed gently with a sad smile, his eyes staring off before he shook his head and smiled brightly at Crow, as if trying to chase the dark clouds away. “B-but that's not here nor there. I'm glad they were able to go to their ideal schools~ I hope they got the jobs they always wanted~!”

Crow looked at him gently for a moment, smiling a little sadly. He honestly felt a little bad for Kenny, it was clear he was facing his own dark thoughts and feelings about the past, maybe even deep regrets. “Yeah.. I’m sure they did~”

He turned his attention back to the light and noticed something off. There were no other cars, no pedestrians, nothing, and they had been sitting at this light for far too long now. At first he brushed it off as the light timing, it could be utterly stupid sometimes. But then, Crow noticed something out of the corner of his eye as Kenny tilted his head down to look at the radio closer. The hybrids eyes widen when he noticed a pure black car next to them, and whoever was in the drivers seat, was slowly rolling down their window just a little-

“Kenny get down!!” Crow shoved his hand on the plant monsters head and pushed him down, right as a bullet came shattering through the window, and hitting Crow directly between the eyes. 


	5. Chapter 5

Silence….

Darkness….

the sound of a soul shattering could be heard.

…………….

Crow had no idea where he was. He was floating in a very dark place, a void like place in fact. He heard music.. Where was it coming from? He didn’t know. 

……………..

**Game Over**

……………..

Game over? What the hell does that mean?...

Crow panicked as he stared at the white floating letters in horror. he desperately flailed around, trying to grab onto something, anything, but all he felt was the empty void he was floating in. No, he couldn’t be dead! This couldn’t be real! He grabbed his hair with wide eyes, remembering the bullet that hit him square between the eyes, the pain he had felt, the darkness consuming him. He covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut as he remembered the loud gun shot that rang in the air, the glass shattering, Kenny’s terrified yell. “No…”

“You cannot give up just yet…”

Crow’s eyes widened a little as he slowly uncovered his ears, staring up at the letters softly. That voice… he knew that voice..

“Crow…”

His eyes teared up a little, his soul appearing in front of him as it came back together, the star on his necklace was glowing bright. Crow knew why the voice was so familiar to him.

“Stay Patient…”

Crow reached out desperately, opening his mouth to call out. And then he fell. Deeper and deeper into the darkness. 

………..

Crow gasped, jerking his head up and opening his eyes, blinking as he slowly looked around. The chatter of people, the warm smell of coffee, Kenny’s back turned to him as he was ordering. He was back at the coffee shop, in tacked, and not full of holes lying in a ditch somewhere, and Kenny was alright too, tired, but alright. The plant monster had not even noticed him, he was too tired to notice as he mumbled and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah and uh… uhh… a donut too please.. Thanks..”

Crow patted himself over, shocked and confused then notices he was still holding the briefcase. Hadn’t he given this to Kenny? Hadn’t they been in the car? Why were they back here? He slowly perked then gently reached into his shirt and took out his necklace, staring at the tiny star as it glowed softly. It couldn’t be.. But Crow knew that it was. He quickly hid it back in his shirt, swallowing softly as he slowly made his way towards Kenny. He now understood why all those years ago, his father had given him this one final gift. Crow took a deep breath as he slowly walked, knowing that he needed to act normally and hide this secret, if anyone knew about it… he didn’t want to think about what could happen. Crow approached Kenny and acted calm, gazing at the back of his head as he took a deep breath then cleared his throat. “Ehem… uh…. Hey, did you sleep last night? You look terrible.”

Kenny nearly jumped out of his skin, yelping in shock then wheezing and clutching his chest as he turned around quickly to address the hybrid with wide eyes. “Jesus french fry, ya trying to give me a soul attack?!”

“Woah, sorry, my bad..” Crow raises his hand as he blinks a little, he was still taken aback by Kenny’s snappy behavior, even though he had already been through this before. But then again, this time around he could sum it up to Kenny being tired and cranky, Crow had kept him out too late, of course the plant monster would barely get any sleep. “You ok?..”

“U-uh… yeah, yeah…” Kenny scratches his neck, looking a little guilty before smiling weakly at Crow. “I uh.. I think the brownies and the lack of sleep from partying is catching up to me. s-sorry if i'm a bit, um.... Jumpy.”

“Ah shit… it’s ok, don’t worry about it, let’s just get ya back earlier next time..” Crow glances at him as he adjusts the case into his other hand, deciding to refrain from apologizing since it seemed to upset Kenny last time, though he didn’t want to make too many different choices, he was still uncertain about how any of this works, let alone if it would happen again. For now, Crow could only hope he was making the right decisions. Kenny rubbed his neck and smiled weakly, he looked a little nervous, Crow couldn’t pinpoint why, he started to notice things he hadn’t before, like how the plant monster kept glancing at the door and tapping his foot, as if he wanted to bolt at any moment.

“Y-yeah….” Kenny swallowed then perks up when his name is called, turning his back to the bodyguard as he picks up his coffee and donuts. Crow was slowly looking around, narrowing his eyes a little, as if searching for the bastards who put a bullet in his brain. There was no one suspicious, everyone was minding their own business, chatting, writing, drawing, just generally being quiet and keeping to themselves like any other coffee shop. Well, except for one person. Crow accidentally locked eyes with a skeleton across the room, making him stare a moment longer than he should’ve. The skeleton was short, and wide, not fat, just a wide and round frame, a Sansra skeleton. Standing next to him was another skeleton, a tall and thin one who was smiling and chatting away as they sat at a table together, a Papyri skeleton. But the off pair of skeletons is not what caught Crow off guard, what caught him by surprise was that the stocky little skeleton didn’t even seem to be paying attention to his tall companion, instead he seemed to have his sights locked onto Crow and Kenny. Despite the friendly looking grin on his face, His eyes were cold, blank, and searching the two, as if trying to figure something out about them. The hybrid quickly looked away, trying not to sweat as he cleared his throat, feeling a chill run up and down his spine from the unwanted staring. “Anyways… we should probably get going."

“Huh?” Kenny turned and squeaked, already seeing Crow head out the door. “H-hey, wait up!” he quickly ran after the bodyguard, not even noticing the skeleton watching them leave. When he jogged outside, Kenny blinked in surprise when Crow handed him the briefcase swiftly. “What-?”

“Boss told me to let you handle the cuts, so I’ll leave this to you,” Crow looked down at him then smoothly turns, heading to the car. “ “Boss also said we are supposed to gather "ingredients" for the couple this morning, so I'll drive us there.”

“W-wait! T-there’s really no need, I’m fine to drive! I could even go by myself!” Kenny was practically getting whiplash from how fast Crow was going, he was trying so hard to make up excuses on the spot but the hybrid wasn’t even letting him have the chance. “Besides, you don’t even have the-!” Kenny cut himself off with wide eyes when he feels for his keys, realizing they weren’t even there, causing him to panic before he hears the familiar jingle, making his head snap up towards the sound. Crow twirled the keys around his finger before unlocking the car and holding open the passenger door for Kenny, staring him down silently as he held the door open. “I insist… come on, no time to waste…”

Kenny swallows shakily as he nervously takes a step back, this was all going too fast for him, how did Crow even get his keys? Why was he rushing everything? He was acting so cold, not his usual coldness, this time it felt… different. Kenny couldn’t help but shake a little, his suspicions of Crow only deepening as he stared at the man. Crow tilted his head softly as he stared back at the plant monster with his eyebrow raised. He didn’t want to waste any time, after all, he certainly didn’t want to get shot in the face again, so Kenny’s hesitation was making him a little impatient. “Something wrong?..”

“Um… I… no, nothing,” Kenny glances back at the shop one last time, weighing his options one last time before sighing gently and walking to the car, slowly slipping into the passenger's seat and allowing Crow to close the door for him as he clutched his coffee close. Ok ok, he could work with this, he just needed a plan, an escape. Kenny glances over as Crow got into the driver's seat, shakily sipping his coffee as the bodyguard started up the car. Crow sighed and buckled up, starting to feel more relaxed now that they were getting things moving. “Alright… where to?”

“U-um,” Kenny tried to think and instantly perks, getting an idea. “Just keep going forward aaaaand take a left.” 

He waited, and waited, then noticed that Crow wasn’t even moving. Kenny slowly looked over at him and noticed that he was staring at the plant monster intensely, making Kenny shrink down. Crow sighed and rolled his eyes, gently shifting a little. He _really_ didn’t want to go through this again, he would surely explode if he had to go in another fucking square because of Kenny’s lousy directions. “Alright, how about this, just tell me the address and I’ll type it into the GPS, ok?”

“N-NO!” Kenny accidentally blurted out in panic then quickly covered his mouth with wide eyes fearfully. Crow narrowed his eyes and turns to him suspiciously. “No?...”

“What I-I mean is, u-um, well, the thing is, I mean, we could just-” Kenny kept stuttering and trying to make excuses, all while Crow stared at him in bewilderment. This was getting ridiculous, why was Kenny acting like a scared kid around him? Unless… Crow suddenly perked. Kenny had mentioned a test the last time, a test that the bodyguard had apparently failed. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully to himself. Ah, so this was most likely part of that test.. Maybe to test his observation skills? No, maybe it was to test how he would handle a situation like this, maybe the reason why he failed last time was because he handled it poorly. Aha! He wasn’t going to fail this time. Crow cleared his throat then unbuckled his seat belt and turns to Kenny, draping his arm over the back seat. “....Kenny, is something up? You’ve been acting weird and nervous all day..”

Kenny instantly quiets down and glances out the window, swallowing nervously as he grips his coffee as he tenses up. Shit, Crow was suspicious of him, fuck! He should’ve been more calm, damn it! “N-nothings wrong..” 

Crow tilted his head to the side softly, not believing him one bit, so he decides to try to probe gently. “Kenny, aren't we friends? what's going on, man?... Is there something I should know?”

Was he trying to guilt trip Kenny? It sounded like something a manipulative spy would do, after all, Al had done the same to Ryan, who’s to say Crow wasn’t doing the same to him? He couldn’t give in. Kenny tenses his jaw, turning his head and narrowing his eyes firmly at Crow, straightening up softly as he puts on his boss poker face. “Is there something **I** should know, Crow?”

Crow was expecting this, so he didn’t even break eye contact with Kenny as he straightened himself up, speaking firmly. “Kenny, if ya want something from me, you have to ask, yer my boss after all..”

Kenny started to internally panic, he wasn’t breaking, why wasn’t he breaking?! Shit! Okay okay, don't panic, he needed to keep his cool or he would truly lose. “So that's how you see me...? Just a boss?”

Crow considers this to himself internally before slowly softening, gazing at the plant monster before leaning over, softening his voice as he talks to him respectfully. “I respect you as my friend and as my boss Kenny.... that's why I'm worried about ya, especially when ya ain't acting like yourself....”

Shit he was good. Could Kenny really trust him? No, he couldn’t risk taking Crow to the farm. If he really was a spy, Kenny would be putting everything at risk by showing him where they get their supplies from. So instead, he crossed his arms and stayed silent, staring at the ground as he kept quiet. “Mphf…”

“Kenny… come on.. Talk to me..” Crow tries to gently probe as he leans over gently, trying to get Kenny to look at him. Kenny only turned away and stared out the window, trying his damn hardest to keep up his poker face despite Crow’s persistence. “Whatever it is, we can work it out..”

Kenny swallows a little, his poker face starting to break as he stares into the reflection of the window, seeing Crow’s slightly soft saddened eyes. Damn, he felt terrible doing this. If Crow was acting, he was really good at it, because Kenny knew he wasn’t going to keep up the silent treatment for much longer. He pressed his lips firmly together before he lets out a shaky breath and peeks at him, seeing Crow was inches away from his face. He almost flinched, but managed to stay calm as he stared up at him softly, his hand glides up his own thigh and towards the crotch area of his pants. “.....you promise to be truthful with me...?” 

Crow swallowed a little as he tried not to look down, noticing what Kenny was doing but trying not to break eye contact with him even though he felt a little blush come to his face, wondering what Kenny was going to do. “I promise….” 

Kenny took a deep breath, then pulled a pocket gun out of his pants and points it directly into Crow’s face, cocking it as he shakes. Crow quickly puts his hands up with a shocked expression. What? What the fuck?! This wasn’t anything like last time, and he realized he potentially made a huge mistake by diverting so far from his past choices. He kept his voice leveled as he tried to speak calmly to the trembling plant monster, not wanting this to escalate any further than it should. “Kenny?... what are you doing?”

Kenny speaks with a shaky voice as he held the gun in his trembling hands, looking up at Crow in fear and suspicion as his eyes narrowed. “Are you working with the Peacocks? Are you their inside man?!”

“.........” Crow was stunned for a moment as he stared down at him with wide eyes. Him? Working for the Peacocks? Kenny had to be joking… scratch that, he definitely wasn’t with the way he was shoving that gun into Crow’s face. He swallowed a little, choosing his words carefully as he tries to calm him down. “I’m loyal to the Phoenix gang-”

“B-BULLSHIT!! I saw your tattoo! It matches up with the bullet perfectly!” Kenny growls as he straightens up, shoving the gun against Crow’s forehead. Crow’s heart sped up as he backed away a little, knowing exactly what he was talking about. How did he see it? Crow couldn’t think about that right now, he had to focus. He could practically smell Kenny’s fear, see him trembling and noticed the uncertainty in his eyes. He could easily exploit this, and he did. Crow grabs Kenny’s wrist and twists it, forcing him to drop the gun before quickly pinning him down, trying to control the struggling monster as he attempts to reason with him. “Kenny stop!! I’m not a peacock member! That tattoo is from a long time ago!”

“Get OFF!!” Kenny kicks and struggles, he starts breathing heavily as he panics from being put in such a vulnerable position. He starts yelling as he struggles, desperately trying to get someone’s attention as he tries his damnest to get away from Crow. “HELP!!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!”

“Kenny stop!! STOP!!” Crow struggles to keep him pinned down, grunting in pain as Kenny managed to kick him in the side multiple times. He tries to keep his cool as he attempts to calm the plant monster down, but he was quickly breaking, tightening his grip before finally yelling out in frustration. “It used to be my name!!”

Kenny stopped struggling, blinking before looking up at Crow in shock, his chest heaving as he pants from the struggle. Confusion creeps into his eyes as he stares up at the hybrid, not quite sure what he had just heard. “....what?....”

Crow shakily sighs before slowly releasing his grip on Kenny’s wrists, slowly backing up until both of them had a good distance between them in the car. He presses his back against the car door and takes a deep breath, slicking his hair back as he glances down. “...the tattoo on my neck.. WDG-005AJ... It used to be my name…”

The plant monster pressed his own back against the car door, calming down as he slowly hugged his knees. “Why…. what does it..”

“What does it mean?..” Crow glances at him then leans his head back softly. “It was basically a tag.. To return to my “owner” in case I was “lost”... WDG stands for Wing Dings Gaster… the scientist who experimented on human children and… well, made me.. I was his property..”

“So… you’re not…. Oh…” Kenny slowly looked to the side, internally kicking himself for being so stupid. Of course Crow wasn’t a traitor, Kenny was sure the hybrid couldn’t even imagine betraying the mob. He felt like a complete jackass for forcing Crow to reveal such a dark secret, his fingers ran through his leafy hair as he slowly looked at the bodyguard again softly. “I’m… I’m so sorry..”

“Don’t apologize,” Crow waved him off as he sighed gently, glancing at Kenny with soft eyes, not even a smidge of anger was in them, only complete understanding. “Trust me, ya did what ya thought was right, anyone in yer situation would probably do the same.”

Kenny was at a loss of what to say, how could Crow be so calm about all of this? He had shoved a gun in the hybrids face! He wanted so desperately to make up for it someway. “ I just... I'm... I...Crow, I-I didn't mean to-”

Crow simply put up his hand, cutting him off as he gave the weakest smile Kenny had ever seen, it was an attempt to make him feel better but was failing miserably. “Kenny, it’s fine… I’d rather you know than.. Someone less friendly..” 

Kenny glances away as he hugs his knees tighter, he couldn’t find any comfort in that. There was a moment of awkward silence that fell over the two, one was trying to grasp the new information presented to him while the other was trying to figure out what the hell he should do next. Finally, after a few tense moments, Kenny cleared his throat and spoke up softly. “So this.. Wing Ding guy… he’s the one that made the bullets?..”

Crow’s face grew serious as he nodded, snapping back into his professional business attitude as he straightened up. “Definitely, his signature is on the bullet itself, almost like an advertisement to other potential buyers. But the thing is, I have no clue why he would sell it the Peacock members, or what other gangs he is supplying to.”

Kenny nods slowly before perking and narrowing his eyes a little. “Wait a minute, if you knew who was making the bullets, why didn’t you tell the gang?”

“Are you kidding me?” Crow scoffs a little as he raises his chin slightly, as if Kenny had asked the dumbest question in the world. “If you thought I was a traitor just by my tattoo, what do you think the others would have thought?” He shook his head as he rubbed his stubble softly with a sigh. “No one knows about him… at least.. No one alive does..”

“I... didn't mean to step into sensitive territory. I'm sorry,” Kenny glances away before looking back at him with a weak smile, trying his best to bring a little hope. “B-but maybe i can vouch for you?” 

Crow raised an eyebrow at the monster, highly doubting that since not even the other bodyguards didn’t even seem to take Kenny seriously. He just shook his head and gently got back into the driver's seat, sighing as he gently stretches. “That’s kind of ya, but.. I don’t think they’ll listen…” Kenny’s shoulders slump as he nods then gently settles into the passenger seat himself, pushing aside the now spilled coffee cup on the ground with his foot unhappily. “Yeah, I suppose..” 

“Don’t worry about it too much, we’ll figure out another way. But fer now, we got a job that we need to do,” Crow starts up the car then buckles up, getting comfortable as he switched the gear to drive. “Directions please, good sir~”

Kenny couldn’t help but smile a little, recognizing the playful tone as he buckles up himself, getting comfy in his own seat by splaying as he always did. “Turn around and take a right~” 

“Roger that,” Crow does a lazy salute then does a quick U-turn, taking off quickly down the street and turning right. He felt a lot better, even after something so tense had happened. The air in the car felt clearier, the plant monster was relaxed and laid back as always, and even Crow himself felt that a little weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It felt good to have someone else understand, in an odd way. Kenny stretched and yawned, pulling Crow out of his thoughts as he spoke up. “So ... if you’re a hybrid… does that mean you can also use magic?”

“Heh, took a while fer ya to ask~” Crow teases at him but smoothly drives as he talks, getting serious. “Yeah, I have magic, but only partial magic that I practice with. I can make blue attacks and bone attacks, but I haven’t gone further than that since… well.. It destroys my body if I use too much magic.”

“Wait what?” Kenny whips his head over to him in shock with wide eyes. Crow only nods as he glances over at him briefly before returning his eyes to the road. “Yep, I’m not a naturally made hybrid, I was born human and altered in various ways to make sure I live longer, having a balance of both Magic and Determination. Thus, I was crossed over with a skeleton soul, since they’re closer to humans in various ways. But every experiment has flaws. When I use magic, my soul introverts, resembling a monster soul for the better flow of magic, but at the same time leaving me vulnerable.” 

“Monster souls are created in an open position, thus allowing us to use magic, while humans on the other hand, their souls are in a closed position, therefore they can't use magic, but persist after death… a human soul turning into a monster soul would definitely cause damage I suppose…” Kenny nodded to himself with wide eyes, he was seeming to understand all of this as he looked at the bodyguard. This did answer some of the questions he was going to ask, such as how Crow had survived for so long since most monster and human hybrids lived very short lives because of soul differences. ”huh, well that explains a lot… take a left here”

Crow nods a little as he takes a left, glad that Kenny understood so much, and was even mildly surprised at how quickly the plant monster picked up on it as well. “hybrids are very rarely successfully birthed because of these differences. Thus, the “good” hearted doctor needed to find another way, and boy did he.”

“Are there… others? Like you?” Kenny glances at him as he picked at his nails, wondering if he was over stepping too far. Crow pauses, staring at the road with blank eyes before slowly shaking his head. “Nah… at least none that I know of..”

“I see…” Kenny grows quiet as he looks out the window with a thoughtful look, watching the city streets pass them by. He wondered how that felt, to not quite be monster or human, and to be the only known one of your kind at that. It must get pretty lonely.. It was no wonder that the hybrid had been so closed off the first time they met, it must be all that he knows to do. Crow slowed down as he approached the light, watching it turn from yellow to red before glancing around softly. He instantly jerked his head when he realized where he was, and suddenly slammed his foot on the gas. Kenny yelped and clung to his seat with wide eyes when they blast through the red light, nearly hitting other cars as Crow sped through. “Dude!! What the hell?!”

“Oops.. thought it was still yellow...” Crow only shrugged as he continued to drive, giving an internal sigh of relief that he was able to not get trapped again at that light. Thank god.. 

…………

A short Sansra skeleton slowly sipped his coffee as he walked side by side with his taller companion, mildly listening as they both head towards their workplace. He seemed to be lost in thought as he stared off, tuning out the chatting Papyri as they walk into a police station with a sign “Pheasant City Police department” hanging proudly over it. The two officers headed inside, nodding politely to the receptionists before walking towards their desks, entering the bustling station that practically buzzed with activity. The shorter skeleton pauses, as if remembering something as he turned his head towards the hallway, contemplating silently as he took a long sip of his coffee. The lengthy skeleton noticed that the other had stopped, making him stop his endless chatter and pause his walking as well, tilting his head curiously as he gazed back at him. “Sans? is something wrong brother?”

Sans gently looked up at his brother and just smiled, his usual big smile that almost took up half of his face. “Heh.. it’s nothing Papyrus~ I just remembered I have to talk to someone really quick. Ya don’t mind, right~?”

“Of course the Great Papyrus does not mind!” Papyrus only rolled his eyes but smiled at him. “Just be back as soon as possible! We have a lot of paperwork to get done and little time to do it!”

Sans chuckled and nodded, admiring his brothers hard work ethnic as he lazily strolled away. “Sure thing, bro~ it would be pretty “tearable” to leave you with all that paperwork~”

“UGH!! SANS!!!” Sans only chuckled hysterically to himself as he heard his younger brother’s annoyed shrieking behind him as he sped away, heading towards the hallway and walking down softly. Sans honestly always hated how loud it was in the station, he preferred the quiet halls instead where the investigators usually worked in complete focus and silence, away from the loud rowdy officers. He sighed as he stopped at a door with a label over the glass spelling “Detective Asgore Dreemurr”. Sans gazes up at the lettering for a moment longer before gently knocking on the door, waiting until he heard a deep gentle voice becon him inside. He gently opened the door, glancing around the slightly dark room as he approached the detective’s desk. “Hey Detetive Fluffy-buns~”

The large goat monster standing by the board grimaced slightly, his large paws pausing from putting up the photos as he turned to the skeleton. Sans smiled up at him, his neck getting a little painful twinge in it from how far he had to tilt his head back since, compared to the large monster of course, he was much, much shorter. The Detective gently adjusted his tie, smoothing out his white fur softly before deeply sighing as he smiled down at his co-worker. “Sans, please~ I told you not to call me that anymore~”

“Eh~ old habits die hard~ sorry Asgore~” Sans chuckled with a shrug before hopping on the desk, sitting on it and crossing his legs as he lazily leaned back. “How’s the investigation going?”

“Hm.. I’m unfortunately running out of leads again..” Asgore turned back to his board of evidence and gazes at it with a stressed look on his face, his fingers running through his golden blond hair and feeling over his long horns distractedly. “No matter how close I get, he always seems to evade me..”

Sans nodded softly, fully understanding the goat monsters frustration before gently glancing down, wondering if he should bring up what was bothering him since the coffee shop. “Hm…. Hey, Uh.. I actually came to talk to ya about that.. I saw something today that I think might be part of your case..”

Asgore perked up and turns back to the skeleton with wide eyes, looking hopeful and curious. “Oh?... and what is it exactly that you saw, dear friend?”

“Well, at the coffee shop today, me and my bro were taking our usual break like we always did.. And then I noticed this guy.. Uh..” Sans gently shifted, looking around on the desk before finally picking up a paper and pencil, making a rough sketch with a focused look as he talked. “There was nothing out of the ordinary about him at first, I mean, he had an odd hairstyle but what people don’t these days? But then I noticed something.. There was a tattoo on the back of his neck.” He pauses then gently shows Asgore the sketch. “WDG-005JA.. I was wondering if it had anything to do with your investigation?”

The Detective’s eyes widen, he quickly takes the sketch and stares down at it with shocked eyes before quickly going over to his board, gazing up at it with an intense gaze before finally spotting what he was looking for. He quickly snatched the slightly burnt paper from the board, gazing between the sketch and the paper before turning to Sans with shocked eyes. “Sans… I think you just found the key that could break through this investigation… do you think you could help me find him?..” 

Sans gazed at him with slight shocked eyes, his eye lights widening before he slowly nodded to Asgore. “Of course..” 

…………..

“We’re here~!” 

Crow slowly turned off the car and gently stepped out, gazing up at the old farmhouse curiously as he leaned against the car. “Huh…” 

The farmhouse looked old and antique, very small in fact, making Crow think that it was probably built a long time ago. But despite how old it looked, it was very well kept and sturdy, giving off warm vibes of coziness that Crow couldn’t quite describe. He was pulled out of his thoughts as Kenny slammed his car door closed, making him aware he still had his drivers door open. He gently closed his own door, following gently behind Kenny as he slowly looked around. Farm land for miles and miles, it was so different from what he was used to in the city, it was all he had ever known after all. He gazes up at the sky softly, taking a deep breath as he looked at the nearly clear sky. The air was different here, it smelled.. Cleaner? Grassier? Free. 

Kenny gently walked up the porch steps, smiling as he knocked on the door softly while Crow decided to stay at the bottom as he looked around. Crow looked around, not seeing anything particularly interesting until he felt a peck on his shoe. He jumped slightly, stumbling back as he gazes down at a very upset looking rooster staring up challengingly back up at him. “Uh…. Hi?” Crow tried to push the rooster away with his foot, but it only came back at him more aggressively and pecked at his leg painfully. “Ow! Ok, you wanna go ya little shit?!” 

Kenny couldn’t help but chuckle at his bodyguard’s distress and shake his head, honestly, it was kinda funny how way out of his element Crow was. The plant monster perked when the door opened, making him smile wide as a middle aged farmer came to the door with a surprised look on his face. The man gently opened the screen door with a kind smile as he gave Kenny a hand shake. “Kenny~! It’s good to see ya again~” He grinned before noticing Crow struggling with the rooster, chuckling a little as the poor hybrid tried to walk away from the rooster only to get charged and pecked at again and again. “Friend of yours~?”

“This is Crow~! My new bodyguard~” Kenny spread his arm towards Crow proudly as if presenting him, right as the bodyguard ran past with panicked eyes as he tried desperately to get away from the screeching rooster. The farmer scoffed as he watched Crow run around before smiling at Kenny playfully. “Some bodyguard ya got~”

“He’s a city guy, cut him a little slack~” Kenny laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck before crossing his arms with his shoulders relaxed. “So, how’s the family, old man~? Wife doing good?”

“She’s doing just fine,” the farmer chuckled gently as he took off his hat to wipe his forehead. “Stubborn as ever and can’t seem to rest for her own good~ ya wanna come inside for some lemonade?”

“Bro, dat sounds so awesome right now!” Kenny nodded excitedly, some cold lemonade on a hot summer's day sounded like heaven to him. He turned and called out at the panicked hybrid as he headed inside with the farmer. “Hey, french fry! quit playin' with the chickens and come get some sweet ass lemonade~!”

“I ain’t playing with them, these feral fuckers are attacking me!!” Crow desperately runs up the porch steps as a whole flock of chickens charged after him, but thankfully he managed to scramble inside and close the door before they could get in. Crow panted and wiped his head, looking less than pleased to be running around on a hot day in a full black suit as sweat dripped down his face. “Ugh…” He pushed himself away from the door and slowly walked down the hall, gazing at the family photos softly of the generations before them. Crow turned his attention back to Kenny as he walked into the small kitchen, gazing around before politely standing next to the plant monster. The old farmer chuckled as he walked to the fridge, pulling out a pitcher of lemonade then rummaging around his cupboards for drinking glasses. “So Kenny, what brings you two around to my humble home?”

“Dude, I seriously wish I was just visiting, but I’m here on business, ya know?” Kenny huffed a little as he leaned against the counter, then smiled happily as the older man handed him a glass of lemonade. “Thank ya~ but on the bright side, I’m gonna try to sneak a little more into your cut today~”

Crow perked in shock, having a moment of panic that maybe this would be a bad idea, after all, wouldn’t their boss find out? His protests unfortunately died in his throat as the farmer handed him a glass of lemonade, making him blink in shock when he saw the sad smile on the gentleman’s face. The older man only shook his head at Kenny with a soft chuckle. “Kenny, don’t worry about it~ I know you’ll get in trouble anyways. We’ll be just fine~ we always have been~” 

Kenny opens his mouth to protest before perking when the door opened again, showing a petite woman waddling gently inside, carrying two baskets of eggs, and very clearly heavily pregnant. Crow couldn’t help but gawk for a moment. Shouldn’t she be resting in bed instead of working like this? The woman gently sets down the baskets of eggs with a tired sigh, clearly a hard worker as she wiped off her face with her apron then gazes at the two young men. “oh, Kenny~! come to visit us so soon~?” she put her hands on her hips and scolded him playfully. “You’re not gonna try and steal any of the piglets again, are you~?”

Kenny crossed his arms with a slight pout, blushing a little as he turned his head playfully as if to deny the accusation. “Not my fault they’re freakin’ adorbs.” Crow couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Kenny as he sipped his lemonade politely, basking in the sweet tangy taste that was just the right amount of crisp cold to quench his dry throat. The farmer only chuckled before kissing his wife on the cheek, holding her close to nuzzle her gently before taking both of the baskets and bringing them to the sink to wash the eggs off. “Thank ya darling~ and as I was saying Kenny, we are doing just fine, don’t get yourself in trouble for nothing.”

“you sure? I honestly don't mind,” Kenny tried to reason with him, sipping his drink as he leaned casually against the counter. “I want to keep your family farm as spic and span as I can. Don’t you need help saving up for a new roof?” 

“Kenny, quit trying to spoil us~!” the older woman giggled as she smiled at the plant monster. “Our family farm is fine, and will stay fine for years to come~”

Kenny eyed her slightly as he rests the glass on the counter, getting a worried look across his face. “You sure you should be working? Shouldn’t you stay off your feet for a while?”

She huffed, looking slightly offended as she crosses her arms. “Oh hogwash! Just because I'm pregnant, doesn't mean I can't still plow the fields and sheer the sheep! I'm perfectly fine to work!” Kenny raised his hands a little with a slight nervous smile, chuckling at the riled up woman. “Ok, ok, just trying to look after ya~” 

The farmer finished washing the eggs before gently turning to Kenny and Crow, nudging the plant monster playfully before whispering to both of them. “There’s no reasoning with her, I tell ya~ too damn stubborn to listen~” Crow couldn’t help but smile slightly, chuckling quietly before blinking in surprise when the older man addresses him. “You’ve been awfully quiet son, considering you almost “threw down” with my rooster just a few minutes ago~”

Crow got slightly flustered at that, turning a bit red in embarrassment as Kenny nearly choked on his drink from laughing. Crow gently cleared his throat before adjusting his tie, looking at the farmer and his wife respectfully. “A-ah.. sorry, I’m not a good talker…” 

“Bro is killer at parties though~” Kenny chimed up before downing the rest of his lemonade, making Crow roll his eyes in embarrassment. The older woman only tisked playfully at Kenny before turning to Crow with a curious smile. “Are you not used to leaving the city dear?”

Crow rubbed his neck before gently nodding, feeling extremely out of place as he glances down at his glass. “Yeah, not really, I grew up in the city for almost my entire life, today is pretty much my first day experiencing any of this.”

“Aw that's a damn shame, you're missing out on a lot son,” the older man nodded to Crow in understanding before rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Hm.. tell ya what~ feel free to explore the farm a little before you boys go~ I'll get yer ingredients Kenny, so don’t be shy to take a walk around~” 

Before Crow could protest out of politeness, the farmer was already heading over to the cellar to get their supplies. Crow sighed gently, perking when the wife spoke up gently as she passed them. “Lemme know if you boys need anything~” she gently smiled at both of them before heading out of the house, presumably to do more work around the farm. 

“Thanks, we appreciate it~” Kenny grinned after her softly before turning his attention to Crow, noticing the bodyguard was extremely quiet and clutching his drink close. “Hey, French Fry? You aight dude?” 

Crow looked at him softly before sighing, gently setting his glass down on the counter. “they are just so... nice and friendly. This house is cozy, everything is so well taken care of. I don't know, it just feels strange is all.”

“bruh, it may look cool and cozy, but here's the dark truth…” Kenny leaned in close to Crow, making him actually nervous when he saw the serious look in his eyes. Kenny paused for a moment before softly whispering. “They don't have any freakin' wifi here.” Crow instantly deadpanned at him, not looking amused as the plant monster threw his hands up dramatically. “Not even a TV! okay I lied, they do have one TV in the family room, but even so, they don't have cable!”

Crow slowly rolled his eyes as he gave a slight chuckle. “Not everyone needs to rely on wifi or the internet to survive, Kenny~ quit being so dramatic~” He slowly rolled his shoulders before gazing out the window gently. “It must be nice though… living quietly, working off the land, taking care of the farm animals.. Maybe I should become a farmer when I retire.”

“Eh?” Kenny blinks then shakes his head gently as he turns to gaze out the window with Crow, watching the chickens walk after the farmer's wife as she gently sprinkles bread on the ground for them. “Dude, I'm not sure you know what you're asking for. it takes more than just buying farm land to be a farmer.” 

Crow looked at him curiously, tilting his head as if to ask what he meant. Kenny gently smiled at him, fully ready and prepared to give this city boy a proper lesson in what he didn’t understand about the country life. “you saw the farmer, right? that glorious hardworking old man who is soon to be a just as glorious father, took 6 years in college till he came out as a proper farmer, armed with all the knowledge he needs to keep his farmland healthy and his barn animals happy.”

Crow stared at him in slight shocked as he listened carefully, understanding a little more about how it wasn’t so simple just to buy a patch of land and hope for the best. Really thinking about it made Crow uncomfortable, taking 6 years in college just to KNOW how to farm and make sure all your animals were taken care of correctly was definitely dedication he couldn’t even imagine. But then, a thought crossed his mind, making pauses as he glanced at Kenny gently. It had been bugging him ever since the Ma and Pa bakery, and now it was being a thorn in his side the more he thought about it. “Hey, Kenny-?” 

“Here ya go, this should last ya a while~” 

The farmer gently dropped boxes of supplies on the table, making Crow jump a little from the sudden noise. Kenny grins at the older man as he straightened up. “Thanks, we’ll load them in the car in a little bit. Hey, can we see the piglets?” Kenny put his hands together pleadingly as he walks over to the farmer, giving him big begging eyes. “I promise I won't try to sneak one this time~”

“Well…” The older man playfully pretended to think before rolling his eyes at the plant monster, chuckling a little as he gave into his pleading eyes. “I don’t see why not~ come on, follow me~” Kenny grins with excited eyes and fist pumps to himself as he followed the farmer out the back door. Crow looked unsure for a brief moment then sighs and shrugs, deciding it couldn’t possibly hurt to try. He gently followed after them, trailing behind as they made their way to the pens. Crow grimaces a little from the smell, but he shouldn’t judge too much, it’s what comes with taking care of the farm animals he supposed. Kenny chatted with the farmer as they approached the gate, laughing a little nervously as he combs his fingers through his leafy hair. “I hope the mother isn't still peeved about the whole... well, you know.”

“Well, we will just have to find out, won't we?” the older man gave him a knowing look with a smile before gently opening the gate, whistling as he grabbed a food pale to feed the pigs. “Charlotte! Come here girl! Get yer grub!” as if right on cue, a large mother pig along with her little piglets trot over excitedly, sniffing out the food as the farmer stepped inside the pen to feed them. Kenny practically squealed when he sees the little piglets waddling cutely after their mother, his eyes going wide in excitement, Crow swore he could almost see stars in his eyes. “Oh my god, they’re walking~!!” 

“Yeah, they got a little bigger since the last time ya saw them~” he gently pets Charlotte as he fed her, patting her back lovingly as the mother ate from the pale. “You want to hold one? She’s a lot calmer about her babies being held now since me and the wife practically do it everyday.” 

Kenny gasps as if someone had just told him he had won the damn lottery. “bro! yes! gimme gimme gimme~!!” he bounces like an excited kid at the petting zoo, his eyes sparkling in excitement and delight as he practically vibrated. Crow couldn’t help but smile a little at this, finding it adorable that Kenny still took pleasure and excitement in the simple things. The farmer gently chuckles himself before crouching down, scooping up one of the piglets gently before gently straightening up. “Calm down now~ be gentle~”

Kenny quickly calmed himself down, holding his hands out with wide eyes as the tiny little pig was gently set into his arms. He slowly cradled the tiny baby in his arms, staring down at it in complete awe then beaming happily with the brightest smile on his face. “Hey there, lil guy~” the tiny little thing stared up at him before letting out a little squeaking noises, pressing it’s tiny snout against Kenny’s hand and cuddling closer, closing its eyes happily. Crow stared down at the tiny little creature in Kenny’s arms, he couldn’t describe how he was feeling for a moment but he understood that the scene was so. Damn. cute. He didn’t even know how to handle it, he was blushing a little as he took one finger and slowly pet the top of the piglets head. “That’s…. That’s adorable..”

“Right~?! They are like, the most precious things in the world~!!” Kenny nuzzled the piglet softly with the happiest look on his face. Crow couldn’t help but get drawn to the soft little baby animal as well, petting it cautiously as if it might break before finally getting used to it and scratching under its chin, making it squeal in delight. The farmer couldn’t help but muse a little as he gazed at the two young men, smiling softly as they dotted over such a small thing. He couldn’t help but wonder if this is how they became friends, they seemed to be much more alike than they thought. But unfortunately, just as he was thinking deeper into it, he noticed that the sun was starting to slowly come down over the horizon, painting the sky in different hues of oranges, reds, and pink colors. “Ope, it seems your boys need to start heading out huh?”

Crow looked up at the sky, noticing as well how it was starting to slowly get dark out. Had they really been gone for that long? He didn’t want to admit it, but he was disappointed, he almost wanted to stay a little longer but knew they shouldn’t overstay their welcome. Kenny must have been thinking the same thing, because he looked down disappointedly. “Awww! Alright..” He gently and carefully handed back the little piglet to the farmer, almost reluctant to let go as he gently pulled his hands away. The old man smiled as he pets the pig gently then sets it back in its pen, stepping out and closing the gate behind him carefully. “You know you’re always welcome to visit anytime~ you and Crow here~” he gently reached out and shook Crow’s hand gently with a soft smile, making the bodyguard himself smile back a little as they shook hands. “You boys have a safe trip back, ya hear?”

“Absolutely old timer~ I’ll leave your cut on the table~” Kenny smiled at the farmer before heading inside, waving as both him and Crow headed out. “Ya have a good night~! Say bye to the wife for me~!” the plant monster kept waving before heading inside, opening up the briefcase he had left on the table and counting out the G inside. He pauses for a moment, thinking over carefully before leaving a little extra on the table, closing up the briefcase and securing it. Crow noticed the hesitation, he had even noticed the extra G that Kenny had left behind, but instead of protesting or scolding him, he said nothing as he gently picked up the boxes of ingredients and walked out of the front door behind Kenny, understanding fully well why he did what he did. 

When they reached the car, Kenny gently unlocked it and opened the trunk, helping Crow load the boxes inside as they both worked in comfortable silence. Well, it was comfortable, until the thought from before had entered Crow’s mind again, making him pause as he rests his hand on the car after they load everything inside. “.....Hey Kenny?”

“Hm?” Kenny dusted off his hands as he gently walked around the car, getting into the passenger side as he blinked at Crow. “what’s up French Fry?”

Crow taps his finger on the roof of the car before gently climbing into the drivers seat, wondering briefly how to ask this before gently sighing. “...I don’t really.. Understand, ya know?”

Kenny raises an eyebrow at him curiously. “Understand what?..”

“I… hm… how do I put this?..” Crow rubbed his stubbly cheek before sighing in agitation, deciding to be completely blunt about it. “I don’t really understand why these seemingly normal, wonderful people are involved in gang business? It doesn’t make any sense to me.. It’s been bugging me every since Ma and Pa’s… is there something I ain’t seeing?”

Kenny’s smile falters a little. He glances to the side with sad eyes. “They’re just… hitting some rough patches is all.” Kenny rubbed his neck as he glances away, hoping that Crow would just take the simple answer. But that wasn’t enough. Crow knew that there was more to it, so why was Kenny so hesitant to tell him the whole story?

The hybrid narrowed his eyes softly, not believing for a second that it was that simple. “Everyone’s gone through a rough patch, that doesn’t mean they instantly resort to helping sell drugs through a gang. Especially not an elderly couple and a farmer couple about to have a fucking kid. Come on Kenny. What’s the real truth?”

Kenny’s smile finally faded from his face and he sighed, leaning back in his seat as he gazes up at the air. For a brief moment, Crow was worried he had been a little too harsh, but finally the plant monster spoke solemnly. “They were going to lose everything.” Crow stares at him softly, staying silent as Kenny continued to speak softly. “The bakery isn’t as popular as it was in its hay day. People have either grown out of it or just find the place to be dated. Very few people come to the old place anymore. They were close to almost selling the old beauty. They didn’t want to lose the only thing they cared dearest about.” 

He glanced back at Crow, sadness showing in his eyes before he swallows and continues gently. “Same for the farm. They could barely keep the place in shape. They almost couldn’t feed their animals. Whole foods are quite expensive and it’s because of that, they weren’t getting a steady flow of business. Factory farms are making more money with their fast production of food, even though it’s less healthy and more cruel.” Kenny gently turned looked back at the old farm house softly, as if seeing old memories as he gazed at the cozy little home. “I didn’t want them to lose everything, so… I gave them a job. It was me who actually introduced this business to boss, which then became massively successful.” he smiled slightly to himself as he continued to gaze at the farmhouse sadly. “My plan worked, they got to keep everything they had and then some..” 

Crow didn’t even know what to say as he slowly leaned back into his seat, staring back at the farmhouse as well. So that’s how Kenny became the main director of this business, how he became the main manager of this whole operation, and how he knew these couples so well as if they were family.... He was the one who founded it in the first place. Crow softly tried to clear his throat after it tightened up a little, trying not to let himself think too deeply about it, but after getting to know these families the way he did, interacting with them, being treated as if he was an old time friend, Crow couldn’t help but understand exactly how Kenny felt, and why he did what he could for these families. “....you know… you’re a good man, Kenny..” 

Kenny looked at him in surprise before weakly smiling at Crow, chuckling as he slowly settled back into his seat. “Heh, you think so? I don’t know..” 

“No.. it’s more like I know so..” Crow gently glances as him as he starts up the car, buckling up gently and settling into his own seat. “You.. really are a good person.. You really do care.” the hybrid smiled a little to himself, a sad look coming into his eyes as he looked to the road. “If there were more Kennys in the world, I feel like it would be a much better place…” 

The plant monster stared in surprise for a moment before chuckling, gently shoving his shoulder playfully as he splayed in his seat. “Bro, I think you give me too much credit~ I ain’t that great~”

“Hmpf… suit yourself, but it wont change my mind,” Crow teases gently to Kenny before putting the car in drive, taking off down the dirt road as he turned the lights on. He couldn’t help but glance out the window, watching the sky turn into different hues of purple and blues, the stars coming out to shine gently in the sea of darkness. Crow had never seen so many stars before, not once in his life had he ever been in so much awe seeing billions of little lights in the sky. He focuses his attention back to the road gently, smiling to himself as they drove under the night sky. Even though he was most likely going to have a tough and terrible night shift with Ryan, at least for now he could enjoy the beautiful night sky with a friend.


End file.
